Armored Love
by xamss
Summary: Found in the woods by a certain hunter in a world where the undead are looming, Riley managed to escape the people who caused her to witness a horrifying happening. Intrigued by her savior who provided her a place to belong, she sets her mind into getting to know him better. Is this man who is so different from her willing to open up? [Daryl/OC]
1. Chapter 1

_**A/N: Welcome to my very first story here on FanFiction. I know that there are a many Daryl/OC stories out there, but I hope you will give mine a try. Please leave a review and tell me what you think. Your opinion is highly appreciated! This story starts around season two of the show. - I don't own the Walking Dead.** _

* * *

**Chapter one**

_Run! Keep running! _Riley screamed at herself as she was sprinting through the woods, clutching her hand against her bleeding side while the other one was holding a machete. That bastard shot her good yesterday. Thankfully it had only been a flesh wound but it was still bleeding heavily.

She hid behind a tree, trying to catch her breath. They had been on her tail for two days now; she couldn't seem to get rid of them. She looked at her side, pulling up her tank top that was now soaked with blood.

She winced as she looked at the wound, it hurt like hell. She tried to calm herself in order to listen for any sounds of the moaning undead.

God, she was hungry, her stomach rumbled as she tried to push back that thought. She quickly pulled off her bag from her shoulders and rummaged through it, looking for the bottle of water she had filled at a river yesterday. She flicked her braided hair away from her shoulder and gulped down the last amount of water. She threw the empty bottle back in her bag and looked at her surroundings. Thankfully she did not hear any moaning of the undead around her so she was at least safe from them for now. She had to stab at least five of them when she was hiding behind either trees or bushes.

She looked at the tree she was standing against and saw that there were some thick branches sticking out near her head. She thought quickly and made her decision. She could not keep running, she felt herself becoming weaker by the minute and the fact that she hadn't eaten in a few days was draining her body.

She braced herself against the tree trying to pull her herself up. Her side was screaming in protest, she winced again but after a few tries she was finally able to pull herself up.

She slowly climbed up the tree that was thankfully covered heavily with leaves. Sitting on a thick branch, she leaned her back against the tree. She started to get sleepy but knew that she needed to stay alert. If they would find her she was dead for sure. All of a sudden she heard a few voices coming from below and she held her breath.

''I think she went here.'' She heard a male's voice say. ''Are you sure? We've been walkin' for days now man and we only saw her once yesterday. You hit her good though, I am sure she is bleeding like a stuffed pig now. I'm sure those biters have gotten her by now.'' Another man answered. ''Goddamn! Why the fuck did we not see her in the first place. She would have been a nice piece of ass instead of those dumbass teenage girls.'' Riley held back a shudder when the man said that, memories flashing by at the horrifying events she had witnessed two days ago.

All of a sudden she heard a moaning sound coming from beneath her and she saw two undead slowly making their way to the voices. ''Urgh great, those bastards have been covering all the tracks for hours now!'' One man cursed and she all of a sudden heard a few gurgling sounds and something heavy fall down.

''Well, we need to get back. They would wait for us for three days and shit man, I ain't doin' this for another day, searching for that dumb bitch.'' She heard the first man reply. ''Yeah fuck it; I'm sure she will be eaten for sure.'' She heard them walking away and she breathed out a sound of relief.

They finally would leave her alone, she hoped. She felt her eyes slowly shutting themselves and she fell asleep.

* * *

A while later she opened her eyes and saw it was getting dark. No way in hell she was coming out of this tree soon. She knew she couldn't see anything at night, and the fact that her flashlight stopped working yesterday was just another evidence of her luck. Just another hour or so and it would be pitch-black outside, only the stars and moonlight would give some comfort in the darkness. Yes, she knew that feeling all too well. She was feeling hot and a bit dizzy but she tried to keep her eyes open.

She sighed and moved a little since her butt was getting numb. She snapped a branch with her foot while doing that, which fell to the ground.

''Who's there!?'' She all of a sudden heard a gruff voice call out. She froze and held her breath. _Shit! They found me! _She held still as she heard footsteps coming closer. _Please don't find me, please don't find me! _She prayed as she closed her eyes, tears streaming from her eyes.

''Yo! I ain't askin' again. You get down from that tree!'' The man demanded. She opened her eyes facing reality; he had spotted her by some miracle.

''O.. ok I.. I'm coming down. Please.. Please don't shoot.'' She said shakily and she winced again, getting up from the branch. She dropped her bag on the ground and carefully climbed down the tree again.

After a few minutes she stood a bit wobbly on solid ground, clutching her side that was aching like crazy. ''Drop the knife!'' The man demanded since she was still clutching her machete in her right hand. She sighed and dropped her only comfort in this dark world. ''Turn around,'' he ordered again and she slowly turned around, facing the man that had spotted her hiding place.

She looked at the man in front of her, widening her eyes since it was not one of those two men that had been following her around for two days. He was holding a crossbow in his hands, pointing it straight at her. He was wearing a dark grey sleeveless shirt and some pair of faded jeans, which had clearly been through a lot as she was seeing some skin through the big holes near his knees. She saw a pair of dead squirrels hanging from a rope that was attached to his belt. _Probably a hunter or something? _She wondered as she stared at the sandy browned haired man. She could see his muscles were straining as he was holding the weapon in his hands. _That thing must way a ton. _She thought to herself.

''What the fuck were you doin' up in that tree girl?!'' He demanded gruffly as she was staring at him, making him feel uncomfortable.

She snapped out of her thoughts and looked at him again. ''I.. I was hiding from some people.'' The man frowned but did not lower his crossbow. _She said people, not walkers. _''You with a group?'' He asked and she thought quickly. Saying she was alone might not be so wise but if he left her here she would probably die. She knew she wouldn't be able to make it on her own, especially with no food, water and not to mention her body was bleeding out from her wound.

''No.. I'm alone,'' she answered truthfully and he nodded. She looked at his face again and saw that he was thinking about something. She prayed to god he would not harass her or something in that direction since honest men nowadays were very hard to find.

Her legs were shaking from the lack of energy and her side was screaming in protest as she applied more pressure on it. The man looked at her again, seeing her bleeding side. ''You been bit?'' He asked her as she saw that he suddenly lowered his crossbow. She shook her head as she leaned her back against the tree she had been sitting in.

''No, shot.. Got shot,'' she replied and all of a sudden her legs gave out and she fell on the ground. She gasped in pain, breathing heavily as she has fallen on her injured side.

Suddenly she heard footsteps nearing her and her eyes widened as she saw that the man was suddenly kneeling in front of her, grabbing her shoulders to help her sit up again. She flinched at the contact but didn't say anything as she saw him looking at her side in concern. ''The bullet still in there?'' He asked, his blue eyes boring into her own. ''No, it just..'' She started as he pulled away her hand and she gasped out loud from the burning pain.

''It just grazed me.. But it's bleeding like hell.'' He lifted her shirt to check her side. He winced at the sight of the wound as blood was still oozing out from it.

''I saw two walkers laying there, did you do that?'' He asked her as he pulled away his hand from her side. ''What?'' She asked confused at what he meant. ''Walkers girl! Those living dead things!'' He snapped. ''No.. No those two men that came after me did,'' she quickly replied and he frowned again. He suddenly grabbed the end of his shirt and swiftly tore off a piece of cloth.

He quickly wrapped it around her waist and stood up again, looking around. _Shit, I can't leave her here, she will probably die for sure. _He thought as he picked up his crossbow and settled it behind his back. He looked at the girl again and ran his hand through his hair, contemplating on what to do. The girl's brown hair was stuck to her face, she probably had a fever by the way she was sweating. He looked around again trying to come to a decision.

He heard her breathing heavily behind him and he looked back, seeing that she was closing her eyes. ''Hey! Hey wake up girl!'' He quickly said and she looked up at him again. _Shit! _ He thought to himself and walked over to her. ''Can you walk?'' He asked as she was closing her eyes again but snapped them open as she heard his voice.

''I.. I think so..'' She slowly replied. She couldn't seem to think clearly any more, she was so tired. He picked up the machete knife she had been holding in her hand, tightened it on his belt. He grabbed her bag that was sitting next to her and flung it over his shoulder.

He helped her up and pulled her arm around his neck, while wrapping his arm around her, being careful not to touch her wound. Her legs were shaking and she was leaning heavily against him.

They were slowly moving forward and Riley could tell the man was getting frustrated by her lack of speed. _Fuck this! _He thought and all he suddenly pulled her up in his arms. She gasped out loud at the feeling of her burning side but kept her mouth shut since he was, in fact, helping her and the last thing she should do right now was complaining about her pain.

''What's your name, girl?'' He all of a sudden asked her during walking as he noticed she was about to close her eyes again. ''Riley.'' She replied and he nodded. ''You?'' Riley asked after some minutes when the man hadn't say anything back. ''Daryl.''

''Where are you taking me, Daryl?'' She asked, wondering what his intentions were. ''I'm takin' you back to my group. We are camped at a farm where the owner is a veterinarian, he can take a look at your wound.'' He replied and she nodded tiredly. For some reason she could care less anymore about where he was taking her. She was so tired from all the running, the lack of food and the burning pain in her side.

Her head felt heavier as she laid it against Daryl's shoulder. She was drained from the blood loss and suddenly her mind went black. Daryl stared at the now unconscious girl in his arms and shook his head.

_Just my fuckin' luck. _He thought as he quickened his pace since panic was now sinking in. If he didn't get the girl back to the farm she would not make it until dawn.

* * *

''He has been gone for far too long, Rick.'' Shane told the man standing next to him on the roof of the caravan, both keeping watch on the woods. Rick sighed. ''If he's not back by tomorrow morning we are going to search for him.'' Rick said and Shane nodded in reply. ''I know he wants to look for her Rick, but chances are slim he's ever gonna to find her. She has been gone for two weeks now.'' Shane said. ''I know. But we can't give up hope, Shane.'' Rick replied and Shane rolled his eyes. _The girl is probably dead by now. No kid can survive in those woods all alone. _He thought to himself and looked through his binoculars.

''Wait! What's that!?'' He all of a sudden said when he had seen a flash of light pointing towards them. ''What? A walker?'' Rick said as he looked as well. ''No man. No walker would have been carrying a flashlight.'' Shane replied and Rick frowned.

''Let's go check it out.'' Rick said and Shane followed him off the caravan, to the light that was coming out of the woods. As they came closer, flashing their lights a head of them, they saw a familiar person stepping out of the woods.

''It's Daryl! What in the hell is he carrying?'' Shane asked as he and Rick were now running towards Daryl. ''Too big to be Sophia.'' Rick replied as he had flashed his light straight at Daryl now.

''Shit! Don't flash that thing in my face man!'' Daryl yelled at them and Rick turned his flashlight towards the ground.

''Where were you man!?'' Shane yelled at Daryl who glared at him. ''I saw this girl sitting in a tree. She's been shot and I've been carrying her all the way down here, you jackass!'' Daryl snapped at Shane who rolled his eyes. Rick flashed his light towards the girl in Daryl's arms and saw she her face was flushed. ''She has a fever. Take her back to a tent, Daryl. Don't wake up the group.'' Rick said and Daryl started to walk back to the camp, followed by Shane and Rick.

As Daryl had placed Riley in his tent, Rick followed telling Shane to keep watch again. ''How long have you been walking?'' Rick asked crouching down next to Daryl who was now sitting next to the girl after putting down his crossbow in the corner of his tent.

''A few hours. She has been fallin' in and out of unconsciousness,'' Daryl replied, ''I tried to keep her awake but she was just mumbling shit.''

Rick touched her forehead and felt that she was burning up. ''She definitely has a fever.'' He said in concern. ''I covered up her wound, it was bleeding like crazy.'' Daryl replied as he carefully pulled off the now blooded piece of cloth he had wrapped around Riley's waist. Rick looked at the nasty bloody wound. ''She told me it was a flesh wound, but still…'' Daryl trailed off.

''I will get Hershel.'' Rick replied but was stopped by Daryl's hand on his shoulder. ''Are you sure man? It's another person on his land.'' Daryl told him and Rick frowned. ''I know, but if she doesn't get help she will probably not make it.'' Rick replied and Daryl nodded, looking back at Riley. ''I'll go get him.'' Rick said as he walked out of the tent.

Daryl rummaged through his bag that was lying next to his crossbow. He pulled out a bottle of water and a clean washcloth, soaking it in water. He folded up the cloth and brushed away Riley's bangs that were sticking against her forehead. He dapped her face with the wet cloth and suddenly Riley opened up her eyes due to the coolness she felt on her face.

''What.. Where I am?'' Her brown eyes darting towards Daryl. Her head was feeling like it was about to explode. ''At the farm.'' Daryl replied as he pressed the wet clot on her forehead. Riley sighed in relief at the coolness, it felt good.

She suddenly heard some male voices nearing the tent and tensed. Without thinking about it she grabbed Daryl's wrist whose hand was still pressed against the wet cloth on her forehead. Daryl stiffened at her touch but didn't move his hand away.

''It's ok. They're gonna help ya,'' he told her as she looked at him with fear in her eyes. ''Ain't nothin' gonna happen to ya.'' She saw the reassurance in his eyes and slowly let go of his wrist. She could no longer fight the drossiness she was feeling and the last thing she heard was Daryl's voice telling her she would be ok.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter two**

''How old do you think she is?'' Riley heard an unfamiliar female voice whisper when she was gaining consciousness. ''I don't know. I think she's around your age, Maggie.'' A softer female voice replied. ''Would be nice to have a female friend.'' The first voice said. ''I'm your sister.'' The other person replied a bit offended while the first woman chuckled. ''So? Friends are different than family Beth,'' the woman replied, ''I can't really complain about you, to you, you know?'' She added and Riley heard a slapping sound and someone laughing.

Riley slowly opened up her eyes, blinded by the bright light that was shining in the room. ''Look she's waking up! Go get dad!'' Riley heard one the women say. She heard someone running away as all of sudden a young woman with short brown hair appeared next to the bed she was lying in.

''Hey, you have been sleeping for such a long time.'' The young woman said as she looked at Riley in concern. ''Where I am? Where's Daryl?'' Riley looked around franticly, beginning to panic as she tried to sit up but her side was dully aching again. She had no idea where she was.

''Wooh, easy! You're safe.'' The young woman replied as she sat next to Riley on the bed placing her hand on Riley's shoulder to press her down on the bed again. ''Daryl carried you here after my dad looked at your wound.'' She said.

Riley looked at her side, noticing she was wearing a long shirt and the mud on her skin was gone. They had probably cleaned her up a bit. She lifted up her shirt and saw that she had a large bandage on the side of her waist. ''My dad cleaned the wound and stitched it. We have been changing the bandages every night.'' The young woman said and Riley frowned. ''How long have I been asleep?'' Riley asked her. ''Uh.. About two days.'' The young woman replied as Riley's eyes widened at the news.

Suddenly she heard voices coming from behind the door. ''I'm comin' in as well man, I was the one that saved her!'' She heard a familiar voice snap. ''Daryl, calm down. Let Hershel look at her first.'' She heard another man's voice say.

All of a sudden the door opened again and she saw an old man entering the room, followed by Daryl and another man who tried to keep him back in vain. She saw Daryl push the man off of him, and followed the old man into the room.

''How are you feeling?'' The older man suddenly asked her and she snapped her eyes from Daryl towards the old man. ''I uh.. Just a bit tired. The pain in my side is not so bad anymore.'' She replied and looked from the older man, to Daryl who was standing there with his arms crossed and then to the other man standing next to Daryl who was frowning at her.

''My name is Hershel. You are at my farm. This is my daughter Maggie.'' The old man, now known as Hershel, said to her as he pointed at the brown haired woman who was still sitting next to her. ''Thankfully we were able to bring your fever down. I have cleaned and stitched your wound. I also gave you some medications for the pain. Maggie and our family friend Patricia have washed you the best they could with you being unconscious.'' Hershel explained to her as she nodded.

''Thank you.'' She replied as she looked at Hershel and then to Maggie who took her hand and squeezed it in comfort. ''You have to take it easy for a few days but you will be fine. You need to get your wound checked every day. The stitches will need to come out. '' Hershel said to her as he stood up.

''Hershel, can I talk to you for a second? The unfamiliar man said towards Hershel who looked at him and nodded. ''Common Maggie, let the girl rest.'' Hershel said to his daughter who stood up. The three of them walked out of the room leaving Daryl to stand awkwardly at the door. He was contemplating if he either should ask her what happened to her in the first place, or walk out of the door as well.

''Daryl?'' Riley's voice all of a sudden called out to him, making him look at her. ''Thank you for bringing me here. You could have left me there but you didn't.'' Riley told him and he rubbed the back of his neck, looking away. ''Yeah.. Whatever. Anyone would've done it.'' He mumbled to her. ''Not everyone.'' She answered and he looked back at her again, seeing she was frowning.

All of a sudden the door opened again, revealing the unfamiliar man again. He closed the door behind him and walked over to Riley. ''My name is Rick, Daryl told me what happened.'' The man said as he stood next to Daryl and held out his hand towards her.

''Riley.. Nice to meet you.'' She replied as she shook his hand. ''Can you tell me what happened to you before Daryl found you?'' Rick all of a sudden asked. ''I uh..'' Riley said a bit doubtful as she looked from Rick to Daryl and back to Rick again. ''We told our group about your arrival but we don't know what happened to you. Where you come from. We can't afford to merely take in strangers we don't know.'' Rick explained to her and Daryl shifted uncomfortably on his feet. He was aware of the fact that if the girl would not be able to win the group's trust, she would be kicked out for sure.

Riley looked at the men in front of her and nodded. ''Ok, I will tell you.'' She replied and Rick nodded. He took two chairs that were standing in the corner of the room and brought them over by her bed. Daryl and him both took a seat, ready to listen to her story.

''I was running with some of my friends after I left my hometown, since it was beginning to become crowded with those.. Dead things.'' Riley said. ''My parents they.. They didn't make it.'' She added as tears formed in her eyes. ''After being on the road for a few weeks, my group got attacked by a big group of those things. Not being smart about it, we all ran into different directions into the woods. I remember running while being followed by at least five of those things. I managed to hide out in a tree for the time being. After sitting there for two days, I came across this man with his two teenage daughters. He took me in and together we were travelling near the road in order to find a car we could use. I.. I came across some of my friends, but.. They were already dead.'' She said and sighed.

''After about two weeks of sleeping in cars, walking around trying to find food, we made a small camp. I was collecting firewood while it happened,'' she said as she closed her eyes reliving the horrifying moments. Rick and Daryl frowned at each other, not know where this story was going.

''As I was collecting the wood, I all of a sudden heard yelling and screams coming from the campsite. I rushed over because I thought we were being attacked by the undead, only.. it were actually the living.''

''I heard a few male voices so I stopped and hid behind a tree. I could hear the teenage girls screaming while their father was yelling to someone to let them go.'' She said as tears were falling from her eyes. ''I looked from behind the tree and I saw.. I saw the girls.. They were screaming.. Those men they were…. they just tore their clothes off… they were hurting them..'' she stuttered and began to cry. Realization hit Rick and Daryl and their eyes widened.

''I was so afraid, I couldn't.. I.. should.. should've helped them but there.. There were at least ten men. I didn't know what to do!'' She sobbed. Rick suddenly leaned forward and covered her hand with his.

''You could not have done anything, there were too many.'' Rick told her. Daryl looked at the ground feeling uncomfortable, he was not good at comforting people like Rick was. Rick squeezed Riley's hand before he let go, silently urging her to continue.

''They made the father watch.. They just.. And.. God he was screaming to let them go. They suddenly shot him in the head and I was standing there in shock. I didn't realize I had moved from behind the tree until one of them looked straight at me. Before I thought about it, I turned around and ran away.'' She said and sighed heavily.

''They send two men after me but I was able to get away from them by climbing in the tree in which Daryl found me in. Some of those.. Those walkers how you call them, had been messing with their trail, ''Riley said and looked at her hands, ''I've never been so grateful that those things were close by.''

Rick frowned and looked from Riley towards Daryl, who was frowning as well. They needed to discuss this problem. If that group of violent men were merely a few hours away from the farm, their group could be in danger as well. ''Ok, you rest. I'll go talk to the group about this.'' Rick suddenly said as he stood up. Daryl quickly followed, he took one look at the girl sitting on the bed and closed the door behind him.

Riley lay down and heard Rick and Daryl still standing outside her door. ''Hershel told me she could stay, but we need to get the group informed about that group of men. Our people could be in danger. I think if we-..'' Rick's voice trailed off as the men headed downstairs.

Riley sighed as she looked around in the room she was staying in. It was mostly white, with a big wooden closet in the corner and a wooden table covered with books and papers. She slowly pulled away the blanket that was covering her and stepped out of bed. Her side was still painful but the stabbing pain she felt days ago was thankfully gone. She unbraided her hair, letting her long wavy hair fall against her back. She was really graving for a shower.

Barefoot she walked towards the photographs that were hanging on the wall near the closet. She smiled as she saw two young girls holding up some eggs in their hands while there was an older woman standing behind them with a smile on her face. She walked over to a small sink that was standing in the corner, getting herself a glass of water. Thankfully the water was still running here. She guessed it was because of the fact that this was a farm. They probably had water reservoirs somewhere near the house.

After finishing her glass of water, she walked over to the big window opposite the bed to look outside. Her eyes widened when she saw the large open field in front of her. Besides its share amount of trees, she noticed a few tents, cars and a big caravan at the end. She noticed a few women laughing near the caravan while they were washing some clothes. A young boy was sitting nearby, looking rather bored as he was poking the ground with a stick. She smiled at the view, she hadn't seen people laughing for quite some time. She also hadn't seen a child in ages it seemed.

She stared across the field and notice in the far left that Rick and Daryl were talking to a few other men, probably discussing the problem. She bit her lip as she noticed how Rick was frowning while explaining the situation. She hoped that she could stay, she wouldn't be able to survive on her own. She had only killed a few of those walkers but she was still scared to death by them. And it was the actual loneliness that would probably cause her to give up.

All of a sudden Daryl looked up and stared straight at her. She quickly got away from the window, embarrassed that he had seen her staring at them. After some minutes of standing beside the window she all of a sudden heard loud footsteps coming up the stairs.

She widened her eyes. _Shit is he mad at me for looking or something? _She thought, but before she could move the door already opened without a knock, revealing the man who had just seen her watching from the window. She saw he was carrying her bag in his hands as he closed the door behind him.

As Daryl turned around to face the girl, all his mind seemed to register were long lightly tanned legs showing from underneath the oversized white shirt the girl in front of him was wearing. _Correct that thought, _he figured as he noticed her change in appearance. She was clearly a young woman as he saw she had led down her hair. Dark brown wavy hair that was framing her face made her look much more mature. He quickly snapped out of his thoughts, nervously running his hand over his scruffy beard.

''I still had your bag.'' He mumbled and dropped her bag on the bed. ''Oh, thank you.'' She quickly said and walked over to him.

She rummaged through her bag but realized one very important item was missing. It was perhaps too big to fit in her bag but she still wondered where it was. As if Daryl noticed what she was thinking when he saw her frowning, he quickly answered her unspoken question.

''They are not so keen on people carrying guns on this farm,'' Daryl said, ''the old man's rules. And since you are still a stranger to us, they don't want you walkin' around with a big ass knife either.'' He added. Nodding, Riley dropped her bag back on the bed. ''Ok.'' She replied and looked at him.

''I have it, so you can have it back when Rick is convinced we can trust ya.'' He said as he looked back at her. Somehow now that her face was cleaned from all the mud and sweat he couldn't help but clearly noticing her face as he was standing so close by.

Dark brown eyes, a bit of freckles on her nose and underneath her eyes. She had fuller lips than most women he had seen and her lightly tanned skin couldn't all be caused by the sun. He frowned as he thought about it.

''What?'' She all of a sudden asked him, snapping him out of his thoughts. He had been frowning at her, making her think something was wrong.

''I uh.. When you're done here, ya should head outside,'' he quickly said, ''Rick said it's better if people from our group stay together.'' He added and walked over to the door. ''So.. I can stay?'' She asked, stopping him in his tracks. ''I think you're good for now.'' He answered and quickly opened the door before walking out of the room, closing the door behind him.

Riley frowned at his vague response but decided not to think about it. She pulled out all of the things she had in her bag. Two pair of jeans and shorts, a few shirts and a bra, some sweaters and a few pair of socks. She sighed as she saw that they were all already dirty because she had already used them all.

She placed the bit of canned food she had left and two empty bottles on the nightstand beside the bed. She took out her flashlight as well, remembering that the batteries had died. _I wonder if they have some batteries to spare here, _she thought to herself as she placed the flashlight next to the empty bottles. Afterwards she carefully pulled out a photograph of her parents that was at the bottom of her bag. _I miss you, _she sadly thought as she brushed her thumb over the photograph.

''Riley? Can I come in?'' A female voice suddenly called out from behind the door that was followed by a soft knock. ''Yes of course.'' She said as she quickly placed back the photo in her bag.

The door opened and Riley saw that it was Maggie. ''Hey, I thought that you might be hungry?'' Maggie asked, holding a plate with a sandwich on it and a glass of milk. ''Oh thanks Maggie, I haven't eaten in days.'' Riley said as she took the plate and glass from Maggie's hands, sitting down on the bed taking no time but dove right into the sandwich.

''I also brought some towels, so you can have a shower.'' Maggie added, placing the two towels she had underneath her arm on the bedside table. ''Hhphmh!'' Riley mumbled while eating and Maggie chuckled. ''Sorry, I mean thank you so much!'' Riley said after she swallowed. ''A shower, I haven't had that in ages.''

Maggie smiled and then looked over at her bed, noticing the various dirty clothing Riley was sitting next to. ''Oh, the clothes you had on when you arrived here are probably dry by now. Patricia washed them yesterday. I can take these to wash and get you you're other clothes.'' Maggie said as she picked up the various clothing items on the bed.

''Oh, you.. You don't need to do that Maggie. You already did so much for me.'' Riley protested as she was about to take back her clothes from Maggie. ''That's ok. It gives me something else to do than working on the farm.'' Maggie said and smiled. ''The bathroom is at the end of the hall, there is shampoo, soap and some clean bandages. I will place your clean clothes on the small table next to the door ok?'' She asked and Riley nodded.

''Oh, I noticed the boots you had on were pretty worn out. You have my size so you can have a pair of mine if you like?'' Maggie asked her. ''Uhm, you sure that's alright?'' Riley asked and Maggie smiled. ''Of course, I'm a farm girl! I have a lot of boots.'' Maggie replied and Riley chuckled.

After Riley thanked her again, Maggie left. Riley smiled as she thought about how friendly Maggie was. Perhaps they might even become friends. She missed having friends to talk to. She picked up the towels Maggie left for her, heading straight to the bathroom. She was looking forward to a nice hot shower.

* * *

**_A/N: I hope the previous chapter was alright. There was not a lot that happened, but I had to introduce Riley to the story first. So, in this chapter I tried to give more details into how she ended up alone in the woods. - Please leave a review, I would love to know what you think!_**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter three**

''Oh jeez this water feels good.'' Riley said to herself as she was standing underneath the showerhead rinsing the shampoo from her hair. She looked at her side and saw the neat stitches in her skin. For a veterinarian she thought Hershel was pretty good at treating people.

After drying off, and carefully drying her stitched wound, she placed a clean pair of dressing on it. After wrapping her hair in a towel and another one around her body, she carefully opened the door to see if Maggie already had left her clothing next to the door. She smiled as she saw a neatly folded pile of clothes on a small table.

She quickly dressed into her favorite pair of jeans and a simple white top, smelling the nice soapy scent coming from her clothes and combed through her now towel dried hair. She braided it to get it out of her face which had become a habit to her nowadays. Though she didn't want to cut it, hair was very easy to pull on and she had unluckily experienced that a lot during this apocalypse.

As she walked through the hallway of the farmhouse she got to meet some residents of the farmhouse such as Patricia and Beth. In the living room she had seen this teenage boy Jimmy. She quickly noticed that these people didn't seem to hang around the others outside since they were still indoors. Maggie handed her a pair of dark brown boots before she stepped outside of the house.

''I think I will head out tomorrow again, catch us some squirrels and look for Sophia. It will get dark in a few hours.'' Daryl said to Rick as they were standing near the caravan while Dale was sitting on top of the caravan keeping watch. Rick nodded as he watched Glenn in the distance setting up a tent for Riley between the tents of Daryl and Glenn. She would probably feel safer that way.

''Rick, are you sure it's a good idea for that girl to be staying here. It's yet another mouth to feed and who knows if those guys are still after her.'' Shane suddenly said as he walked over to Daryl and Rick. ''What do you want to do then? Send her on her merry little way and wait for the walkers to eat her or somethin'?'' Daryl snapped at him.

''I'm just saying, we don't have that many people here that can fight and a bigger group means needing more eyes and protection.'' Shane replied harshly to Daryl who merely rolled his eyes at him. _What the fuck did he know?_

''Guys, calm down. We are not sending her out on her own. Let's just see how she fits in the group.'' Rick said. ''And perhaps it might be an idea to teach the women some decent shooting.'' He added as he looked at the two men in front of them, who were still glaring daggers at each other. Shane finally looked at Rick. ''Yeah I guess that might be a smart thing to do. We can drive further away from the farm for that,'' he agreed and looked at the farmhouse again. ''And shit, I don't mind teaching that particular one some shooting.'' He suddenly added and smirked.

Daryl and Rick looked confused and followed his line of sight. In the distance they saw Riley walking out on the porch, with her bag in her hand, looking a bit unsure on what do to. ''Damn Daryl, I see why you wanted to safe her in the first place.'' Shane smirked and patted the redneck next to him on the back. ''Don't touch me, you ass!'' Daryl growled at the man and pushed away the man's hand, hiding the fact that his face was flushed by the ex-cop's comment.

Rick merely pinched the bridge of his nose, these two men were giving him a headache with their constant bickering.

Riley, having no idea on the men's conversation, saw the man she was looking for and quickly walked over to the three men, not looking around to the now strange looks she was getting from all the other camp members.

''Uh Rick? I still have some food left, I don't know if you stock these things somewhere?'' Riley asked as she quickly pulled out three cans of beans and showed it to the man in front of her, aware of the fact that Daryl and the other man she didn't know were staring at her.

She thought it would be best to give the group something that they could use in order to win their trust. ''Thanks Riley.'' Rick said as he took the cans from her. Shane eyed the curvy brunette standing in front of Rick, not noticing the daggers Daryl was staring into his back who was still pissed off at Shane's comment.

''So, Riley huh?'' Shane said very smoothly as he stepped next to Rick. Riley glanced from Rick to the man with an army-haircut that approached her. ''I'm Shane, Rick's friend.'' Shane stated and shook her hand. ''Nice to meet you, Shane.'' Riley replied to Shane who was smiling at her. Riley smiled back, he seemed friendly enough.

''Anyways..'' Rick suddenly said as Shane was still ogling Riley who was now looking at Daryl since he seemed rather pissed off about something as his eyes seemed to try and burn a hole into Shane's back.

''Shane, you're on watch now. I'll go bring these cans to Carol and Lori. Daryl can you show Riley her tent so she can get settled?'' Rick asked the grumpy man beside him who nodded at hearing the sound of his name instead of actually listening to what was said to him.

''Dinner should be ready soon.'' Rick told her and walked away. ''Yup and if you need any help with something, don't be afraid to ask.'' Shane stated, smiling at her.

Shane's initial thought about the other mouth to feed had apparently already been forgotten. He would enjoy feeding this particular young woman since his shot at Lori seemed nearly impossible now. ''Uh, ok. Thank you.'' Riley replied a bit awkwardly and Shane walked away.

''Jackass..'' Daryl muttered as he watched Shane walking away to relief Dale from watch. ''You don't get along with him?'' He suddenly heard Riley ask him since she just had watched the entire glaring contest going on. ''Nope, the man turned into being a real asshole.'' Daryl stated as if it was a fact and walked away. He noticed Riley following him and quickly turned around.

''What'chu want girl?!'' He snapped at her, in which Riley flinched away a bit at his harsh tone. ''I uh.. Rick said that.. uh.. you would show me the way to my tent?'' She stuttered. _Shit what is wrong with this guy? Talk about serious mood swings, _she thought to herself.

Daryl frowned at her but then nodded. Though he hadn't heard shit what Rick had said, he'd figured he was walking into that direction anyway. ''Yeah, whatever. Follow me.'' He mumbled and continued walking. Riley made sure to keep a safe distance from him after his strange outburst. She looked down and noticed the red bandana sticking out of the back pocket of his jeans. Somehow it suited him. _I wonder if.. _She snapped her head back up as he turned around. _No need in him spotting me checking out his ass._ ''You can put your shit in there, someone will get you when dinner's ready.'' Daryl said and pointed towards a tent.

''Ok thanks.'' Riley said but she was faced with Daryl's back who was entering his own tent that was standing beside hers. Riley rolled her eyes. _Talk about being weird. _As she entered her tent she noticed a sleeping bag on the floor with an extra blanket and some water bottles lying beside it. _Oh my, they even gave me a pillow, _she thought as she noticed the white pillow on top of the blanket.

''Hey, you in there?'' Riley heard a voice call out to her from behind the entrance of the tent a while later. ''Uh yes.'' Riley said as she came out of her tent. An Asian guy was standing in front of her, he seemed around her age. ''Hi, my name's Glenn. You're Riley?'' Glenn asked as he held out his hand. ''Yeah, that's me.'' She smiled at him as she shook his hand.

''We are having dinner now, come meet everyone.'' Glenn said as he smiled at her and she nodded. _Now he seemed friendly enough. _After sitting around the campfire, she quickly got to meet the other camp members who all welcomed her into the group. Rick had told them what they needed to know about how she got here while avoiding the matter of the exact specifics that Riley had seen.

Some women in camp had expressed their concerns but Rick reassured them he would do everything in his power to keep them protected. Riley already noticed that Rick was some sort of leader for this whole group. She also learned about the recent loss they had suffered by losing a girl named Sophia. She frowned as she heard that the girl was already missing for two weeks. If she was being honest, chances were slim that the girl would able to survive that long on her own. Heck, she would have been dead by now if Daryl hadn't found her.

''Do you think you are able to find her?'' Riley whispered to Glenn who was sitting next to her while they were eating their meal. ''I don't know. Daryl has been looking for her nearly every day now but no luck so far.'' Glenn said and Riley frowned. She looked over towards Daryl who was seated at the far back.

_That was probably what he was doing when he found me, s_he thought. As if he noticed her looking, he suddenly stared right back at her. She quickly looked back at her plate, feeling a blush creep up her skin. Luckily Rick's son who was sitting next to her started up a conversation with her.

That night, after helping Carol and Lori clean the dishes and getting to know the women a little better, Riley quietly walked back to her tent. It was already dark so she decided to go to sleep. After changing into a pair of sweats that were already dry from the washing Maggie had done, she slipped into her sleeping bag and promptly fell asleep.

* * *

The next morning Riley woke up by a nightmare. Flashes of the undead walking around, screams of teenage girls and grinning faces of those disgusting men she wanted so badly to forget. She tried to calm her breathing and sat up, rubbing her hand over her eyes.

Suddenly she heard some noise outside of her tent so she quickly stood up and quietly opened up the zipper of her tent. She stuck her head outside of the entrance and saw Daryl standing near his own tent, pulling his crossbow over his shoulder. Unbeknownst to her, he had actually woken up due to her mumbling and soft crying in her sleep. He was unable to fall back asleep again.

''Where are you going?'' She asked out loud without thinking. Daryl stiffened at the sudden voice calling out to him and turned around. ''Going out to find Sophia.'' He told her and turned around. ''Good luck.'' He heard her call out but he didn't answer as he walked away.

Riley frowned as she saw him walk away and sighed. He was so strange, he rescued her but was so distant. He had been the only one that she didn't have a normal conversation with yesterday.

''Don't worry about him, he's always like that.'' A female voice suddenly said and Riley looked up to see the woman she now recognized as Andrea standing near her. ''Always this anti-social?'' Riley wondered and Andrea chuckled. ''Yeah, pretty much.'' She said and smiled at her. Riley smiled back and rolled her eyes. ''Men.'' She stated and Andrea nodded. ''Tell me about it!'' she said and walked away.

''Hey Carol, you mind if I help you?'' Riley asked after she was dressed and saw Carol pealing some potatoes near the now died out camping fire. The older women smiled up at her and nodded. After Riley sat down next to Carol, she cut up the potatoes that Carol already pealed and placed them in a bucket of water.

''Sophia always liked the help me while I made dinner.'' Carol suddenly said after a few moments of silence. Riley looked up at the woman as she was pealing another potato. ''How old is your daughter?'' Riley asked her. ''Twelve.'' Carol said with a sad look on her face. Riley bit her lip, not really knowing the right words to say to comfort the woman.

''Hey Riley!'' She suddenly heard a voice call out and she looked to the side to see Carl running towards her. ''You want to help me fill these bottles of water?'' The boy asked her as he showed her the crate of empty bottles he was carrying. She smiled at him, thinking he was like a miniature version of Rick.

''Uh sure, if that's alright with you Carol?'' Riley asked the older woman who smiled at her and nodded. She walked side by side with Carl as he led her to the water pump nearby. ''So, this is where all the water comes from?'' Riley asked and Carl nodded.

''Uhuh, it's my daily chore.'' Carl explained as he set down the crate of empty bottles. ''Ok, do you want to pump or should I do it?'' She asked him. ''I will pump, Shane says that it makes you stronger in your arms. I want to get some muscles like him. Or maybe more like Daryl.'' He stated as he took his place behind the water pump. Riley held back a chuckle and nodded. She sure had noticed those arms.

''I bet it comes from that crossbow he uses all the time.'' Riley replied as she was kneeling down beside the pump and held up a bottle towards the water to fill it. ''Yeah it's way cool since it makes no noise. I asked him if I could hold it one time but he said no.'' Carl said as he kept pumping and frowned.

''Ah, I'm sure he won't let anyone near that thing, Carl. You should see it as his precious teddy bear.'' Riley said and Carl started to laugh. ''A teddy bear?'' He chuckled. ''Yeah, I mean toddlers can't seem to let go of them either right?'' She said and winked at him as he continued to laugh. ''Haha! If he would hear you say that oh my god.'' Carl said.

''Shht.. I don't want to get my butt kicked. Let's just keep it our little secret '' Riley whispered as she placed her forefinger against her lips and Carl nodded while smiling.

The morning and afternoon went by pretty quickly for Riley. She helped Maggie with collecting eggs and then Lori with sewing up some shirts. She also managed to get to know Beth a little better as she spotted her sitting on the porch. Beth was a little shy at first, but the minute they were talking about boys she opened up into a chatterbox. Riley frowned as she considered the Greene family. Besides Maggie, she hadn't really seen that much of the others living inside the house.

All in all it was a good day for her since she was able to connect with more members of the group. She even got to borrow some books from Dale who had a pretty good collection in his caravan. He was such a sweet man, reminding her a lot of her uncle. Andrea had mostly been sitting on the caravan throughout the day keeping watch. She noticed that the blonde woman was not that interested in doing the things Lori and Carol been busy with.

She already found a new friend in Carl, who seemed to like her since she was the newest addition to the group that didn't mind to play with him. When Carol and Lori were making dinner, Lori told Carl to make his homework to give Riley some time off. The mother had noticed that her son had a liking for Riley.

As she was wandering around camp she saw Glenn standing on the caravan nearby. ''Hey Glenn.'' Riley said as she walked up to him. ''What are you looking at?'' She asked as she saw him looking at the farmhouse rather than the woods she had seen Rick and Shane do on their watch a few hours ago. ''I uh.. Nothing.'' Glenn said as he quickly looked in a different direction with his binoculars. Riley looked back at the farmhouse and saw Maggie sitting there folding some clothes.

''You like her?'' Riley asked and smiled up at him. Glenn blushed but put down his binoculars and sat down on roof of the caravan. ''Well, yeah. She's pretty and we sort of uh.. kissed a while ago.'' He said to her. ''So, what seems to be the problem then?'' she asked him as she climbed up the ladder to get on top of the caravan. ''I am not really good with girls.'' He sadly said and she smiled as she sat down next to him.

''Well, I'm a girl and you are talking to me right?'' she said as he chuckled. ''Yeah but that's different.'' He answered but quickly realized what he just said. ''I mean.. you are like.. really pretty but I mean.. Maggie she..'' He started to ramble and Riley had to laugh. ''Chill Glenn, I get it.'' She replied and winked at him while he nervously looked into a different direction.

''Aw Glenn, I'm sure you're doing fine.'' She told him. ''I mean, hey you two already kissed. And she's really nice.'' She said as she bumped her shoulder against his and he smiled. ''Yeah but she seems to keep her distance. I don't see her that much outside of the farmhouse.'' He told her. ''Well, why don't you go talk to her then? She's out now.'' She told him. ''No, I can't. I'm on watch.''

''Uh.. Well maybe I can take over for a few minutes while you go talk to her?'' she told him. He frowned. ''I don't know, Riley.'' He told her. ''C'mon Glenn, I want to learn this whole watch thing, give me some practice.''

''Ok, just look through these and yell if you see any walkers.'' He said to her and she nodded as he gave her the binoculars. ''I'll be back in a few minutes.'' Glenn said as he quickly climbed off the ladder. Riley chuckled at the fast pace he was walking.

She looked through the binoculars and started to watch the woods from left to right. She wondered how the others were able to do this for a few hour straight, especially at night. It was already getting darker so she wondered how they were able to see during the nights.

''What the hell are you doing?'' A familiar gruff voice suddenly called out from behind her. He startled her and she nearly dropped the binoculars she was holding in her hands. Riley looked behind her and saw Daryl glaring at her from the ground on the other side of the caravan. His stance was pretty defensive, arms crossed with his crossbow strapped behind his back.

''I uh, was keeping watch?'' She said, stating the obvious. ''And who left you in charge of that?'' He demanded to know. ''I was just taking over from Glenn for a few minutes. He uh.. Needed to go to the bathroom real quick.'' She half lied. Daryl raised his eyebrow. _Going to the bathroom my ass, _he thought. ''Well, you didn't see me coming did ya? The woods are all around us not just in front of ya. What if I was a walker?'' He asked her.

He didn't need to tell her that he had been very silent when walking up to her as he spotted her on the caravan, no way a walker would be that quiet. For some reason that was pretty confusing to him, he wanted to talk to her.

Riley got angry by his comment and balled her fists. ''Well sorry, I don't have eyes in the back of my head you know! I was making a circle and I didn't check behind me just yet!'' She snapped at him. _Seriously! What was his problem?! _

''Hmpf.. Whatever girl..'' Daryl grumbled mostly to himself as he uncrossed his arms and looked away.

''Sorry! I don't speak caveman, what are you saying?!'' She said out loud while glaring at him in return. His eyes widened at her comment._ Caveman? _

''Hey Riley, thanks for covering for me. If someone saw that, I would ha-..'' Glenn started to say but Riley quickly cut him off before he could finish his sentence. ''No worries Glenn, when nature calls, nature calls.'' She quickly said as she turned away from Daryl to Glenn.

Glenn frowned as he climbed the ladder up the caravan and quickly spotted Daryl from the other side. ''Next time you need to take a piss, ask Rick or Shane to cover for ya.'' Daryl gruffly replied and walked off.

''My god, what crawled up his ass?!'' Riley said rather loud as she rolled his eyes. Glenn quickly looked to the side and saw Daryl stiffen at her comment but kept walking. He breathed out a sigh of relief. ''Shit Riley, I don't want to get in trouble with that guy.'' Glenn told her as he took the binoculars from her hands.

''Huh? What's wrong then?'' She asked him as they both sat down again on top of the caravan. ''Just.. He's just very intimidating.'' Glenn told her as he looked through the binoculars again.

''So?'' Riley pressed on. She was rather curious as to what the story of the so called redneck was. After being here for such a short amount of time, she already noticed that Daryl seemed to be the odd man out. Glenn sighed and looked back at her. ''Daryl's brother, Merle. He went missing and it was sort of our fault. I've seen how Daryl can freak out when he gets angry. I don't ever want that to be directed towards me.'' Glenn said and started to explain the issue of Merle.

''So, he got chained to the roof and cut off his own hand to get away?'' Riley asked, not believing the story since it was too shocking to even comprehend the fact that someone was able to do that. ''Yup, I guess he was pretty desperate.''

Riley thought about what Glenn said. Daryl's brother sounded like a real asshole.

''Do you think he's still alive?'' She asked. ''I guess since we think he stole our ride. He's like Daryl, he can survive on his own.'' He explained while he stared into his binoculars. Riley bit her lip while she thought about what he said.

''You know, even if Daryl is able to survive on his own, why do you think he would stay here with this group?'' She asked him and Glenn looked up at her while he shrugged.

''Dunno, I've never considered that thought to be honest.'' He replied.

''People need people.'' Riley told him. ''What do you mean?'' He asked her. ''Well, perhaps he doesn't want to be alone either. No matter how he acts, he still comes back doesn't he? It makes you wonder..'' She trailed off and stared into the distance.

Glenn didn't reply but stared at the young woman sitting next to him. Perhaps she was someone that was able to see the good in every person, even the gruff ones like Daryl.

* * *

_**A/N: I hope you guys liked this brand new chapter! - Please leave a review. :)**_


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter four**

After Glenn told Riley the story of Daryl and the loss of his older brother she felt pretty bad about snapping at the hunter like that. In his own way, he was looking out for the group. Her inexperience with keeping watch might have led to trouble.

She didn't want to be on anyone's bad side in this group, especially with the person that saved her in the first place. She wanted to at least try and be on good terms with him. He seemed important to the group, but he was such a loner as well. But like she had figured out when she had talked to Glenn about it, Daryl always came back to this group.

After thinking about it for two days and collecting her nerves, she decided to just go with her gut feeling and walked over to Daryl's tent. She had been keeping her distance from him, thinking he would be mad at her for reacting the way she did the other night. However, keeping distance from Daryl was fairly easy because he either was gone all day, sleeping in his tent or skinning animals for dinner.

''Daryl? Can I talk to you for a sec?'' She asked as she stood in front of the entrance of his tent. ''What you want?'' He answered her gruffly. She rolled her eyes at his answer but quickly opened the flap of his tent and stepped in before she lost her nerves. She saw him sitting on his sleeping bag, cleaning one of his arrows. She sat down on her knees and looked at him.

''I wanted to say sorry for what happened the other night back at the caravan. I should have been more careful.'' She told him, making him frown. Since when did people ever apologize to him in the first place? He actually had forgotten about it to be honest. He was a guy that didn't dwell on things. _Women think too damn much for their own good. _He thought to himself. ''Yeah whatever..'' He merely replied as he looked back at the arrow he was cleaning. Riley sighed, thinking Daryl was a tuff man to crack.

''So… did you find anything out there?'' She suddenly asked, trying to keep some sort of conversation going. Daryl had been away a lot because he was either looking for Sophia or hunting. ''Nah.. Just some squirrels and rabbits.'' He replied as he placed the arrow he had cleaned beside him, before picking up another dirty one.

Riley nodded as she looked around in his tent, seeing that he didn't have that much stuff in it, just a bag, a few shirts laying next to it, some bottles of water, arrows, his crossbow and..- ''Oh here you keep it!'' She suddenly said as she spotted her machete in the corner of his tent. She picked up the knife and held it in her hands. ''This was actually my dad's. He had it for show above the fireplace.'' She said and chuckled as she thought back as she recalled the memory. ''It intimidates people when they are visiting, Riley.'' She said in a low voice, trying to copy her dad's voice but knew she horribly failed at that.

Daryl stared at the young woman in front of him, who was now smiling while she was holding the deadly weapon in her hands. He couldn't deny the fact that she was pretty, too pretty for her own good. Her thick brown braid that hung sideways down her shoulder, her lightly tanned skin that surely had to do with some sort of foreign blood, the hourglass shape and to him she seemed to have all the curves in the right places. And shit, any sane man would have probably noticed her chest by now. Her breasts filled the top she was wearing very nicely. Pretty actually didn't do her justice, probably more in terms of the word beautiful.

She was hard not to notice when he was at camp, even though she wouldn't look into his direction when he was around. He kept staring at her when she would pass by as if he was drawn to her like a magnet. Shit, even Carol had caught him doing it and looked at him in a funny way he didn't like. As if she was on to something he wasn't. Daryl shook his head; beautiful women were out of his league. Shit, he'd never even used the word beautiful to describe a woman before.

''Did he give it to ya or somethin'?'' Daryl all of a sudden asked her and Riley stopped smiling. ''Uh.. no.. I just.. Saw it as I was running out of the house from a walker. Thought it would be better to have some sort of protection.'' She said and frowned while looking at the knife in her hands. Daryl nodded but didn't ask any further. Everybody here had experienced separation and despair.

Riley placed the knife back in the corner of his tent and looked at the big crossbow that was sitting next to Daryl. ''Where did you get that thing?'' She asked him out of curiosity as she pointed towards his weapon. ''My brother, we went hunting near our home a lot.'' He replied and looked back at the arrow he was holding.

Riley nodded, knowing his brother was a touchy subject, especially after everything she heard from Glenn. She decided not to say anything about it. ''Well, it sure comes in handy nowadays to be able to hunt. Being a city girl, the only thing I have to show for is a college's degree.'' Riley said and smiled at him. ''I might just stun those walkers with my excellent grammar skills!''

The corners of Daryl's mouth slowly rose in the form of a smile and Riley bit her lip to hold back a chuckle as she saw the look on his face. Smiling looked good on him, it was better than the constant scowl or look of annoyance that seemed to be engraved on his face. He probably didn't even notice he was doing it.

''Shit, how old are you anyways?'' He asked out of curiosity. He frowned as the words had left his mouth, realizing that he just had asked her that. He'd never been curious about other people before, but he was about her. He was unconsciously already listing all the details in his head.

''Huh? Oh, I'm twenty-four.'' She told him. ''Damn, you're young.'' He said and chuckled. ''What? It's not that young.'' She rolled her eyes at him being a bit offended. ''And I'm turning twenty-five in exactly three weeks,'' she said as she crossed her arms defensively. He raised his eyebrow at her at her behavior.

''Well, how old are you then, huh?'' she asked him, noticing the look on his face. She was rather curious about that too. He had to be somewhere in his thirties. ''Thirty-six.'' He told her. ''Oh well shit, you already belong in an old people's home then. Where is you're walking cane, huh? '' She asked and smirked at him.

He glared at her comment as the whole tent went silent and she suddenly burst out in laughter. ''Oh my god, your face!'' She nearly yelled out loud and continued laughing.

''Ah fuck, my side!'' She suddenly gasped as she held onto her side while continuing laughing. ''Shit woman, watch it!'' Daryl snapped as he nearly jumped up out of instinct. She breathed in and out, trying to calm down. She couldn't get rid of the image of his face in her mind and covered her mouth with her hand. ''Stop making me laugh then!'' She told him. Daryl shook his head, this woman was insane.

After her laughing fit Riley was kicked out of Daryl's tent because he told her she would be pulling her stitches if she was going to continue acting all 'retarded' as he so put it. Riley rolled her eyes and smiled as she thought back at that comment. For some reason he wasn't calling her girl anymore, but woman. He might be figuring out she wasn't that young to begin with.

''What are you smiling about, huh?'' She all of a sudden heard a female voice behind her question. She turned around and saw Lori coming up to her, holding a basket full of dry clothes in her arms. ''Oh, nothing.'' Riley said and smiled at her.

Lori had seen Riley come out of Daryl's tent. She had heard Riley's laughter as well. Even others in camp were giving a look of surprise at each other when they heard it. Daryl and saying something funny was very difficult to imagine, if not impossible.

Lori had always kept her distance of the redneck, he seemed uncontrolled, just like his brother. For some reason, she never felt guilty about the fact that the man's older brother went missing. He was a selfish pig, always walking around nearly undressing every woman with his eyes and everything that came out of his mouth seemed to be filled with obscenities. She had tried her best to avoid the man at all causes.

Rick seemed to get along with Daryl though, telling her he was alright when she once expressed her concerns to him. ''He might be a bit distant and gruff, but he protects the group. He's alright. Just let him be.'' She recalled her husband telling her.

''You want some help with that?'' Riley's voice entered her train of thoughts and Lori nodded when she saw Riley pointing at the basket she was holding. ''Sure, I believe some of your clothes are in here too.'' Lori said and Riley nodded, following her near the campfire.

When Riley was done helping Lori making piles of everyone's folded clothes, she told Lori she would hand them out to everyone while Lori would help Carol finish dinner. ''Be sure to tell everyone, dinner is in ten minutes.'' Lori said and walked away.

After Riley finished brining Andrea's, Dale's and Glenn's clothes, her last stop was Shane. ''Shane? Your clothes are dry.'' She said while standing in front of his tent. ''Oh thanks, come on in.'' He told her and she entered his tent.

He smiled up at her while he was cleaning his gun. _What is it with guys and cleaning their weapons? _She thought to herself, recalling the memory of Daryl and his arrows as she placed the freshly washed clothes in the corner of Shane's tent.

''So, how do you like it here?'' Shane suddenly asked her as she turned around to face him. ''Oh, it's nice. These people are friendly, '' she told him as she kneeled down on his sleeping bag. ''You know, we are going out shooting in a few days, you know for training. All the women are coming. You can come as well, if you want.'' He said to her.

''I've never held a real gun before, let alone shoot with one,'' she told him and he smirked. ''No worries, Rick and I are excellent teachers. You'll be a pro in no time.'' He replied and winked at her. Riley smiled at him, he was a friendly man.

''Sure, I'll come along. Anyways dinner's ready in five.'' She told him and stood up. ''Alright, thanks.'' He told her and she walked out of his tent not seeing him checking her out from behind.

She turned left but before she knew it she accidently walked into someone. ''Ups, sorry.'' She said as she stopped herself from colliding into the person by holding up her hands. She looked up and saw she was pressing her hands on none other than Daryl's chest. She noticed he was at least half a head taller than her now that she was actually standing so close to him.

She felt him tense up at the contact and quickly pulled back her hands. ''No worries.'' He told her and walked off with a frown on his face. ''Oh hey, dinner is ready in five!'' She called after him and he waved his hand in reply. She rolled her eyes and walked back to the camping fire where the group was gathering for dinner.

When dinner was ready, Riley passed around the plates to everyone. ''Can't wait to shoot a gun!'' Carl told Glenn who was sitting next to him as Riley handed them their plates of dinner. ''Well, don't get too excited kid, or else someone gets hurt.'' Shane said as he walked by, ruffling the boy's hair.

''Nah, I will be a pro. Better than you, Shane!'' Carl said proudly and Riley chuckled as she handed Shane his plate who winked at her. ''You better be careful or I won't let you shoot at all, Carl.'' Lori warned her son who sulked at her comment.

''Come sit over here Riley.'' Shane called out to her and pointed to the chair beside him. ''That's ok, not everyone has gotten their plates yet.'' Riley replied giving him a small smile and went back over to Carol.

''This one is for Daryl, got him some extra pieces of chicken. He needs to keep his strength up. That man won't eat if we don't offer.'' Carol said to her in a hushed voice and Riley nodded.

She took two plates from Carol and made her way over to Daryl, who was sitting in his usual seat as far away from the group as possible without it being too obvious. She wondered if he would actually get his meal himself if somebody didn't offer it to him. She did notice over the past few days that Carol normally was the person who would pass him a plate. She thought it was kind of strange since he was the sole provider of the meat they had around here. Well, besides the occasionally chicken they would receive from the Greene family that is. Rick mentioned that they should not be depending on the family because Hershel was already kind enough to let them stay on his land. Rick didn't want to ask for food as well, only if they would offer.

''Here you go.'' Riley said as she handed Daryl his plate which he took without saying anything and started eating. ''Thanks Riley.'' Riley said out loud but he merely rolled his eyes at her and didn't reply. Riley looked around and grabbed a lawn chair that was sitting nearby Glenn to sit closer to the hunter.

''Shane and Rick are taking the women out shooting in a few days.'' She told him, striking up a conversation. They weren't within hearing distance so she thought it would be nice to get the grumpy man to talk since, for some reason, she wanted to get to know him better. She realized that even though he wasn't such a talker, he would reply if she would ask him questions. And she was a talker, that was for sure.

''Good, saves me the trouble of looking out for all of your asses.'' Daryl grumbled and he bit into a piece of chicken. ''Whatever, you better be careful that I won't shoot you in your ass, tuff guy.'' Riley said as she brushed off his remark.

He glared at her and she stuck out her tongue at him. She knew it was childish but she somewhat liked to get a rise out of him. ''As if you ever could do that.'' He told her and scoffed. ''Well, I will watch your pretty ass. Best be aware or it's mine.'' She smirked at him while looking him up and down with her eyes and saw his face flush at her behavior. She laughed again as she heard him mutter something which sounded a lot like 'vulgar woman'. _God that man is too easy, _she thought and smiled to herself.

Little did she know the strange glances the two of them were receiving from the other members of the group. Glenn seemed surprised and looked at T-Dog who gave him a knowing smirk. Shane on the other hand was narrowing his eyes. He didn't want the new additional member of the group to be hanging around that foul-mouthed hick. Who knows what kind of shit would come out of his mouth.

After a few minutes while everyone was chit-chatting away during dinner, Riley was actually having a nice time talking to Daryl. ''I can't believe you actually did that.'' She said and chuckled after Daryl told her that one time he and his brother had accidently put their shed on fire. ''Shit, our dad was pissed. Beat the crap out of us.'' Daryl said to her as she shook her head. Daryl smirked as he looked at her disapproving face. ''The only bad thing I ever did was steal a piece of gum from a candy store.'' Riley said and took a bite of her food. ''Shit man, call the cops. That's a first degree crime!'' Daryl said sarcastically and Riley rolled her eyes.

''You ever been in jail?'' She suddenly asked him without thinking about it and he frowned. ''Once, got into a fight with this stupid jackass in my neighborhood.'' He told her and she nodded. She decided not to continue on that topic, even though she was sort of curious as to what his background was. She was intrigued by the hunter and decided right then and there that she wanted to know more about him.

* * *

A few days later, after Riley had visited Hershel for her daily check up on her wound, she was finally called officially healed after her stitches were removed. As she stepped out of her tent in some cut off jeans and a white loose shirt that was leaving one of her shoulders bare, she felt the heat on her skin.

''Jeez it's hot today.'' She told Andrea who was walking next to her towards the two cars that were standing nearby. ''Tell me about it, what I wouldn't do for some air-conditioning.'' The blonde haired woman told her.

''Ok, you two ride with Glenn and Shane.'' Rick told them as they reached the cars where Rick, Shane, T-Dog and Daryl were standing. The group members that wanted some training in shooting would get some lessons from Rick and Shane today.

''Lori, Carl and Carol are with me. Daryl, Dale and T-Dog will be staying here .'' He told them and they all nodded. As Rick walked away to get his passengers, Riley and Andrea decided to wait near Daryl, Shane and T-Dog, chatting about the things they missed.

''Shit, you've see those legs on that girl?'' Shane whispered to Daryl as he tilted his head in the direction of Andrea and Riley. Daryl didn't respond as he was too busy staring at the exact same thing Shane was talking about.

''Yo dude.'' Shane said as he waved his hand in front of Daryl's face. ''Man, get your hand outta my face!'' Daryl snapped at Shane who smirked. ''Checking out the merchandise as well huh?'' Shane said. ''What the fuck are you talking about now?'' Daryl asked the man in front of him. Half of the time he just tuned out the guy in general.

''We do have some fine women in our camp. Blondes are pretty but I prefer brunettes. And that particular brunette over there sure is standing out.'' Shane said to him as he kept staring at the young woman near them.

Daryl frowned at his comment and somehow it made him flare up in anger but he bit is tongue. Guess Shane was going after younger brunettes now that his chance at olive oil had decreased to zero. Daryl had noticed some shit going on between Shane and Lori. Rick was an idiot for not knowing but Daryl couldn't give a shit about other people's drama.

''Yo man, isn't she a bit young for you?'' T-Dog said as he overheard the conversation. ''Nah man, twenty-four is what she told me. It's legal.'' Shane said. ''Shit, and how'd you figure that out?'' T-Dog asked. ''Just chit-chatting, ain't anything wrong with getting to know people.'' Shane said as he smirked.

Daryl just rolled his eyes at his comment. The man got along with women, that was for sure. He frowned at the thought since women tended to avoid him. Only the drunk ones seemed interested in him when they were looking for a quick fix as he looked back at his track record. Riley, however, had been striking up conversations with him throughout the past few days which confused the hell out of him as in why she even bothered.

''Where's she from anyways?'' T-Dog asked Shane, which made Daryl's ears perk. He was rather curious about that too. ''The capital city itself. She already left the city in the beginning of the outbreak though. Better chance with less people around.'' Shane replied and T-Dog nodded. ''Smart girl.''

''Grandparents moved here from Asia.'' Shane explained. ''What? Asia? Like Glenn?'' T-Dog asked, being rather confused. Daryl frowned. _She sure as hell doesn't look Chinese or somethin' like that, _he thought. ''Nah, not Korea man. She's got some Indonesian roots, that's why she's got that fine lookin' tan going on.'' Shane grinned and T-Dog chuckled. ''Her dad was American.'' Shane added. ''Shit do you know everything about her?'' T-Dog asked. ''What? Was just curious.'' Shane said with a smirk.

Daryl scowled at all the information Shane had on Riley. _Do they have fuckin' tea parties or somethin'? _He glared at the ground.

''I wonder what's eating him.'' Andrea chuckled making Riley frown. ''Who?'' She asked and Andrea nudged her head in Daryl's direction. Riley looked and saw the scowl on his face. ''He does scowl a lot, but that particular one is going to engrave itself in his face if he won't stop it.'' Andrea replied making Riley chuckle. ''Andrea, that's mean.'' Riley said and Andrea laughed.

As Rick came back with Carol, Lori and Carl in tow, the only person that was missing was Glenn. ''Ok, has anyone seen him? Sometimes he just disappears.'' Rick told the others while he frowned. ''I think I know where he is.'' Riley suddenly said. ''I'll go get him.'' She added and ran off while the others stayed behind, looking rather confused.

Glenn had told Riley he would normally meet up with Maggie behind the apple tree, out of sight from the others.

''Glenn, stop it that tickles!'' Riley heard Maggie laugh as Riley neared the tree. She held back a chuckle and decided not to walk too close by. ''Glenn? We're leaving now and we're all waiting for you!'' Riley said out loud and she heard something drop and then a grunt followed by a giggle. ''Shit uh yeah I'm coming, coming!'' she heard Glenn say and suddenly he appeared before Riley with his shirt half open.

''Better cover up, Glenn.'' Riley snickered pointing at his open shirt before walking away. ''Oh shit.'' She heard Glenn mutter behind her and she chuckled.

As she walked back to where the cars were standing she saw Daryl approach her with a frown on his face. ''Hey.'' She greeted him as she passed him. He didn't say anything as he was in deep thought.

He was suddenly stopped as he felt a hand on his wrist, making him look back. ''You ok?'' Riley asked him, concern edging her voice. ''What? Fine.'' Daryl grumbled, shaking off her hand and walking away. She shook her head and walked back to the others. Glenn suddenly appeared next to her out of breath.

''Yo, man what were you doing?'' Shane asked him impatiently behind the wheel as Glenn got in the passenger's seat. ''Uh just, uh.. couldn't find my good shirt.'' Glenn lied his teeth off, hearing Riley snicker in the looked back at her in the backseat, glaring at her and she just laughed out loud now. ''What's going on?'' Andrea asked curiously after she stepped in the car beside Riley.

''Oh, it's nothing.'' Riley chuckled. She wasn't going to rat out her friend.

* * *

_**A/N: Thanks so much for the reviews! I hope you liked this brand new chapter - reactions are very much appreciated!**_


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter five**

They drove for about two hours before Rick and Shane stopped near an open spot and set up some targets made from glass bottles. After getting some guns and clear instructions by Rick and Shane target practice started.

It was soon noticeable that Andrea and Riley were actually getting the hang of it.

''Where did you learn to shoot like that?'' Andrea asked Riley as she was standing next to her. ''A lot of laser gaming and paintball.'' Riley said and Andrea chuckled. ''I liked paintball back home. I so kicked some ass!'' Carl exclaimed out loud as he overheard the women's conversation.

''Butt, Carl. Butt!'' Lori scolded her son who standing a few feet away and Riley laughed as she saw Carl copying his mother's sentence while making a face.

As Rick and Shane were helping where it was needed, Shane could not leave an opportunity go unseen as he saw Riley fire her gun. She was actually pretty good. ''Hey, I thought you said you never shoot a gun before?'' He asked her as he stood next to her.

''Nope,'' she replied as she smiled up at him, ''but I had some younger nephews who I always took out laser gaming or paintballing when I had to babysit.''

Shane smirked at that explanation. ''You're doing well, but you're stance is a bit off,'' he told her and she suddenly felt his hands on her shoulders. ''Back straight, eyes on the target and shoot.'' He whispered in her ear and she held back a shiver as his hand came in contact with her bare shoulder. She slowly breathed in and shot another bottle.

''Good girl,'' he said as he squeezed her shoulders before he let go. She frowned at the uneasy feeling she was getting. _Was that really necessary in the first place?_ She shook her head and fired her gun again. She hadn't noticed that Lori had also seen the unnecessary attention Shane had given her, making the older brunette frown.

After about an hour, the shooting had attracted some walkers, which gave the women some good practice on moving targets.

Riley couldn't deny the fact that those undead were still giving her the creeps. Especially the bigger ones. She luckily had managed to fire down five of them after some encouragement of Rick, who was standing at her side with Carl and Lori.

Shooting was more difficult with a moving target, and she had missed a couple of them by shooting them either in the neck or chest. That didn't work though, they just kept on coming if it wasn't a straight bullseye in the head.

She tried not to panic as a walker would come closer when she would miss but Rick constantly kept reassuring her which did the trick. The man sure knew what he was doing.

They even learned to improve some of their stabbing skills. Riley had already been forced to learn that before she came to this group, but she saw Carol and Lori were having difficulties. Andrea, on the other hand, seemed to be a quick leaner.

After a while the group noticed the amount of walkers were somewhat increasing due to all the noise so Rick called it a day and everyone got in the cars for the drive home.

Riley listened to Andrea's story about her younger sister and how they were good at fishing. ''She was around your age, a bit younger,'' Andrea told her. ''I remember how she cheered every time we caught some fish.'' Riley smiled and squeezed Andrea's hand.

Even though Andrea was a strong woman, Riley knew she must have kept up that strong front so she wouldn't be overcome by grief. Riley knew exactly what she was feeling as she had lost some family members of her own. She felt a lump in her throat as she thought about her parents and how she'd had to leave them at the house. She didn't even know what happened to her uncle and her nephews.

* * *

''Riley!'' Carl called out as Riley just stepped out of the car when they had reached the farm. ''Do you want to go to the water pump again with me?'' The boy questioned as he ran up to her. ''Sure kid.'' She said and smiled at him. ''Ok, I will get the crate!'' He told her and ran away again.

Lori smiled as Carl brushed passed her and walked up to Riley. ''I hope you don't mind him asking. He's growing fond of you,'' the mother explained. ''It's ok, he reminds me of one of my nephews.'' Riley said as they walked back to camp.

She walked over to where Carl was collecting bottles in a crate and noticed that the pile was getting quite large. ''Maybe we should bring in an extra crate and divide the bottles, it will be very heavy carrying back,'' she said, pulling up another crate.

''Ok, you pump again?'' Riley asked the boy as they had reached the water pump. ''Yup!'' Carl said and began pumping but after some filled up bottles he smiled in mischief.

''Aah! Carl watch it, you are making me wet!'' Riley said as the water was suddenly pouring over the bottle she was holding and onto herself. ''That's because I'm super strong!'' Carl yelled and pumped harder. ''Aah!'' Riley squealed as the cold water came pouring out of the pump, in her face and on her shirt.

''Carl! You asked for it buddy!'' She shouted and took a bottle of water and threw the water at his head. ''Eeh!'' Carl laughed out loud and now grabbed himself two full bottles and flung the water at her shirt.

''Oh shittt!'' Riley cursed as she stood up and looked at herself. She was now soaked, her shirt clinging to her skin and her bangs were sticking to her face. Carl was laughing so loud the whole camp probably heard him.

''Oh my god, my stomach!'' He laughed as he looked at Riley who was soaked to the bone. She grinned at the kid who was nearly bending over from laughter.

''Ok, what happened to you two?'' Lori asked after half an hour as a soaked Riley and Carl walked up to her with a crate full of filled water bottles in between them. ''He happened!'' Riley said as she ruffled through Carl's wet hair who had a big smile on his face.

Lori looked at Riley and she winked, so Lori decided not to scold Carl for his behavior. The kid was finally having some fun. ''Ok, I will get the other crate since it's not so heavy.'' Riley said to Carl who nodded. ''Carl, go put on some dry clothes.'' Riley heard Lori say as she walked away.

After putting down the second crate filled with water bottles, Riley walked over to a spot a bit away from the tents to lay down in the sun. It was already hot and sunny outside so her clothes would be dry in no time.

She waved at Glenn who was sitting on top of the caravan with Dale. As she looked at the sky, she couldn't help the fact on how peaceful she felt. It was the first time in ages that she had some time to sit back and relax without the constant fear of walkers around her.

She unbraided her wet hair, kicked off her shoes and closed her eyes.

Dozing off a little, she didn't notice someone walking up to her until a shadow was covering the sun on her face. She squinted her eyes as she looked up and saw Daryl standing there, looking intimidating with his crossbow slung around his shoulder and dead squirrels hanging on his belt.

''Hi.'' Riley smiled up at him. ''Did you fall into the water or somethin'?'' He gruffly asked her as his eyes took in her visible bra through her wet shirt, up to her soaked shorts and her bare feet with red painted toe nails. Riley laughed.

''No, Carl. We had a bit of fun with the water pump,'' she told him and closed her eyes again. ''Come sit with me, the sun is nice,'' she told him and patted the empty space beside her. She just heard him grunt and then his footsteps trailed off. ''Ok, suit yourself mister grumpy,'' she whispered to herself while still having her eyes closed.

However, after a few minutes, she heard some footsteps and then she felt the grass move a little next to her. She looked beside her and saw Daryl actually sitting next to her without his crossbow nor the dead squirrels, leaning on the back of his hands looking at the sky.

She quickly recovered from her shock that he was actually sitting next to her. ''Any luck?'' She asked him. ''Nah.. nothin'.'' He answered, knowing what she was asking. Riley sighed and decided to drop that particular subject.

She squinted her eyes and looked at the man beside her who was not paying attention, staring ahead to the woods in front of them. She noticed how his sleeveless shirt showed off his muscles. She wondered how his chest looked like. She smiled at the thought and quickly looked away feeling herself blush.

She knew he was handsome, in his own rugged way. She was attracted to him, that she was sure of. He had this whole sexy distinct manliness radiating off of his body. It was screaming for attention if you were able to crack through its hard exterior.

However, if the world hadn't gone to shit, they would have probably never bothered to look at each other. He would probably be too intimidating for her, since he was also radiating the stereotype of a redneck with a foal mouth which would probably made her stay away from him. A distant person that didn't give a shit about how others thought about him.

Truth to be told, he was still trying to keep up that image but she tried to see through it now that she actually spend more time with him. She frowned thinking further at the matter. Perhaps he thought she was too energetic or perhaps too young.

She knew she was a very talkative person and he was the direct opposite. Then again, he wouldn't be sitting here if he couldn't stand her, would he? _I wonder if he even finds me attractive, _she thought.

Deep in thought, a gruff voice suddenly cut of her train of thoughts. ''Cat got your tongue?'' He suddenly asked her and she looked back at him, seeing him staring at her. He had noticed the frown that appeared on her face, seeing she was thinking hard about something.

''Huh?'' She replied. ''Normally ya talk my head off but you've been silent for at least fifteen minutes. That's a first.'' He said to her and she rolled her eyes. ''So, I like to talk. What of it?'' She said and smiled. He merely shrugged. ''Nothin', finally some peace and quiet.'' He grumbled and looked away.

If he was honest, he liked the fact that she talked a lot since he mostly kept quiet. He was a listener, an observer, not a talker. Heck, he just liked hearing her voice. She seemed comfortable around him, a feeling he wasn't used to.

''You're bleeding!'' she suddenly said as she sat up straight looking at him in concern. ''Huh?'' He asked as he was pulled away from his thoughts.

''There is blood seeping through your shirt.'' She said as she pointed at his shoulder blade. There was definitely a big stain of blood forming on it.

Daryl frowned, he hadn't noticed a thing. He thought his crossbow had just been sitting wrongly on his back as he had felt the stinging feeling. It must have happened when he had been in a fight with a walker earlier today and got pushed up a tree.

''Let me take a look at it.'' Riley said as she looked at him, her hands hovering to examine his shoulder. ''No, it's fine. I'll bandage it myself.'' He muttered as he got up. ''It's on your shoulder blade Daryl, you can't see that.'' She said, getting up as well to follow him.

''It's fine, Riley.'' He grumbled but she shook her head, ''I will get some bandages, I'll meet you in your tent.'' She said and walked off. He stared at her leaving form, her long hair flowing behind her. _Shit, _he thought to himself, but still walked back to his tent.

''Lori? Do you happen to have any bandages here?'' Riley asked the older brunette who was sitting with Carol pealing some potatoes.

''Uh, sure. Did something happened?'' Lori asked the girl as she stood up and took Riley to her tent. ''Daryl, he's bleeding. I think he bumped into something.'' Riley said and Lori frowned at the man's name. ''If it's bad, he's got to see Hershel.'' Lori told her as they entered her tent.

''Yeah, I don't think it's that bad. He didn't even notice it until I mentioned it. If it's serious I'll ask Hershel.'' Riley said and Lori nodded. ''I think I still had some here.'' Lori said as she rummaged through her bag as they were standing in her tent.

''Got it!'' she said and gave Riley the bandages. ''Here, some disinfection, cotton wool pads and scissors as well.'' Lori said as she handed Riley the supplies. ''Thanks Lori.'' Riley said smiling and walked out of the tent, leaving the older brunette behind with a frown on her face.

''What was that all about?'' Carol asked Lori as Andrea had joined Carol on the lawn chairs. ''She needed some bandages for Daryl.'' Lori explained. ''What happened? Is he alright?'' Carol asked in concern.

''He's ok; Riley thinks he bumped into something in the woods. She would inform Hershel if it was serious.'' Lori told the older woman who nodded.

''Strange that he lets her do that. I mean, it's Daryl we are talking about.'' Andrea said and Carol smiled. ''I think it's nice that he has found a friend. I was afraid he would stay a lone wolf.'' Carol said and Andrea nodded in agreement.

''Well, I hope she won't get her hopes up.'' Lori said making the other two women look at her. ''I mean it's Daryl? He is a bit unpredictable, you know? And sometimes that mouth of his and that temper.'' She told the others while she rolled her eyes and Andrea chuckled.

''Well, I give you that Lori; the man can be a handful.'' Andrea agreed. ''Well, he's not like his brother.'' Carol said in Daryl's defense. The man had been looking for her girl every day now; he definitely had earned her respect. He had kindness in his heart, she was sure of it.

''True..'' Andrea said but Lori was not agreeing on the matter. ''She's a bit young for him, isn't she?'' She said and the two women looked up at her. ''What? It's true.'' She said. ''Well, she's an adult. You can't stop who you fall for. And in this world, you don't have the men for the picking anymore.'' Andrea said.

Meanwhile Riley had entered Daryl's tent, who was merely sitting on his sleeping bag. ''Ok, so I got some bandages and disinfection. I hope it's not too deep or else it will need stitches and I have never done that before.'' She said while she frowned at the supplies she was holding in her arms.

''Yeah, whatever just gimme and get out.'' Daryl told her and Riley looked at him. ''Daryl, it's on your back. You can't reach that. C'mon just take off your shirt and I'll clean it.'' She said as she sat down on her knees next to him.

He glared at her. ''Riley, just give me the damn things and get out!'' He snapped making her frown at his defensive behavior. ''What! What's the big deal? It's not like I haven't seen a man shirtless before.'' Riley said as she rolled her eyes while placing down the things she had in her arms. She might have been young in his eyes, but not that young.

Daryl was now pissed off, why couldn't she let it go? ''Fine!'' he said and started to unbutton his shirt. ''Good, let's see..'' Riley said as she moved behind him. As Daryl slowly removed his shirt, the first thing she noticed were the two tattoos on his right shoulder, but her eyes widened quickly when she noticed the scars that littered his back.

She was about to open her mouth however Daryl cut her off. ''Don't.'' he said and Riley bit her lip. She decided not to push it and looked at the wound. Luckily it wasn't so deep, so she wetted a few cotton wool pads with some disinfection.

''This might sting a little.'' She said but he didn't reply. She placed her hand on his left shoulder, careful not to touch the cut on his skin. She could feel the tension in his body. ''It's not too deep.'' She said, trying to make some sort of conversation to get his mind off of whatever he was thinking.

''How'd it happened?'' she asked as she carefully cleaned the wound. ''Got surprised by a walker, pushed me up against a tree. Think I hit a branch or somethin'..'' he muttered as she frowned.

''Why do you do it? She asked him and he frowned. ''Do what?'' he asked while he was starting to feel a bit more relaxed as her soft cool hands were brushing along his skin. ''Go out on your own?'' she asked him, as she now was bandaging the wound.

''Why not? I'm faster that way.'' He told her. ''Yeah but less protected. What if a herd comes along?'' she asked. ''I can take care of myself.'' He snapped and she sensed he was getting agitated. ''No, I don't mean it like that. Just, I mean… you got a group of people here. No need in doing things all by yourself.'' She said as she finished her work.

''I don't need anyone.'' He muttered. She held her hand on his shoulder, frowning. ''Everyone needs someone.'' She told him. ''Yeah well I don't need anyone.'' He told her again and she decided not to push the matter.

''You got a clean shirt here? The one you had on is stained.'' She said, changing the subject. He nodded his head in the direction of his bag that was sitting beside her. She rummaged through it and found him a clean sleeveless shirt, making her chuckle.

''What?'' he asked her as she turned towards him again. ''Don't you own any shirts that you haven't ripped off the sleeves from?'' she asked him as she gave him the shirt. ''It's annoying.'' He told her as she watched him put on his shirt.

Though he might not have a hard core six pack, he was still very lean that was for sure. If she was being honest, he was the example of pure manliness. The fact that he only wore sleeveless shirts was not annoying to her at all. _I could stare at those arms all day. _She blushed as she caught up with her thoughts and looked away.

There was a brief silence in the tent, which began to get a little awkward. Riley didn't want to leave the man just yet. ''So uh, the shooting went alright.'' She began, trying to strike up a conversation. He only grunted in reply, which made her bite her lip.

Unbeknownst to her, Daryl's mind was spinning. He had no idea what to say to her, talking was not his thing. ''So, yeah I guess I'll be-'' She started. ''How many?'' he suddenly asked her. ''Huh?'' She replied as she looked at him. ''How many walkers did you kill?'' he added. ''Uh.. I think about five. And then a herd came so we had to get out of there.'' She said and he nodded.

The silence started again and Riley fidgeted with her hands. He didn't seem like he was trying to get rid of her, but he was not good at holding a conversation either. ''Ok, you're not a big fan of talking huh?'' she said and chuckled.

''Got nothin' to say.'' He muttered as he grabbed a nearby arrow to have something in his hands. ''Oh c'mon, there has to be something to talk about.'' She said and scooted a little closer to him. He just shrugged his shoulders. ''How about.. jobs. What did you do before all hell broke loose?'' She asked him. ''Worked in a garage, fixing cars and stuff.'' He told her.

For some reason, she could have guessed that since it somehow suited him. He looked at her as she nodded knowingly. ''What, not good enough?'' He asked as she didn't comment. ''Huh? No, I just.. thought that would be something you would do.'' She told him and he rolled his eyes. ''I mean like, fixing stuff. Working with your hands? That's not a bad thing. Especially nowadays, I couldn't fix a car if it broke down in the middle of the road.'' She quickly added since she noticed how he easily got defensive on things.

''After I finished college I wanted to teach English, but it was very difficult to get a job at the time. So, I just had a job at a clothing store. Can't really do anything with that experience now.'' She said mostly to herself. However, Daryl was listening intently. He liked the fact that she shared things about her life to him.

Riley looked at Daryl, who was still fiddling with the arrow in his hands. ''Well maybe if those walkers might want some tips on what color shirts might match their eyes?'' she joked trying to ease the tension.

As he stayed silent, she started to think of another topic since her dumb jokes were not helping either. ''Uhm, how about you learning to hunt?'' She asked him, being curious as to how he had gotten so well in tracking and hunting for food. ''My brother taught me when was old enough to walk.'' Daryl said. ''That had to be nice having a big brother. I don't have any siblings. Sometimes was a bit lonely as a child.'' She said and he looked at her. _Was lonely for me as well, _he thought to himself.

''So, your dad didn't teach you?'' She questioned, making Daryl scoff. ''The man was too piss ass drunk for that.'' He told her. ''After a while, Merle went to juvie, so I just learned on my own.''

Riley looked at the man as he was staring at the arrow in his hand. The reason why he was the way he was probably had a lot to do with his childhood. He must have been so lonely as a boy. Even though she was an only child, her parents loved her.

''How about your mom then?'' She asked before she could stop her own curiosity. ''Alcoholic, died in a fire by leavin' her cigarette burning when she was sleeping.'' He muttered. Riley's heart was beginning to tighten at all this information. ''I'm sor…'' She started.

''Don't, I don't need no pity.'' He snapped as he placed away the arrow he was holding in his hand. He was not agitated by the fact that she wanted to say sorry, he was agitated by the fact that he actually shared things about his past that he never told anyone about. It confused the hell out of him, and him being confused always turned right into anger.

''Ok, let's just uh.. talk about something else then.'' She quickly said, trying to move on to another subject but not giving up on talking to him. Another person might have run for the hills, but she felt that there must be more to him then he was letting on. She was sure of it.

''You think you can.. like.. sometimes give me a lesson?'' She suddenly asked and he looked at her with a confused look on his face. ''With your crossbow.'' She said and pointed at the weapon that was sitting beside him. The thing had been fascinating to her, especially since Daryl preferred to use it. ''Shit, can you even hold it up?'' He asked and smirked. She inwardly sighed a breath of relief that he didn't seem so agitated anymore.

''Well, I can try?'' She said, raising one eyebrow. He shrugged his shoulders and picked up his crossbow that was sitting next to him.

''See if you can lift it up first, and then we talk.'' He told her and she nodded. She carefully took the crossbow from him, and it instantly fell in her lap when Daryl let go. She wasn't prepared for the weight of the weapon at all.

''Shit, this thing ways a ton!'' She exclaimed and he chuckled. She unconsciously pouted her lips and now carefully lifted the heavy weapon. ''Jeez, no wonder your arms are like that.'' She muttered more to herself but he heard it, shaking his head.

She finally had it raised in front of her, even though she felt a heavy strain in her arms. ''See, ''she said and smiled at him, ''now we can start talking about those lessons huh?'' She said with a look of satisfaction on her face, making him roll his eyes.

* * *

Later that day, the group was sitting along the camp fire during dinner. As everyone was into their own conversations, T-Dog happened to noticed something. ''Yo man, what's going on between those two?'' T-Dog asked Glenn, who was sitting right next to him.

''Huh? What do you mean?'' Glenn asked and T-Dog cocked his head into the direction where Riley and Daryl were sitting.

Glenn looked and saw Riley laugh as Daryl was making some sort of shooting gesture and then some hand movements as if he was chocking something.

''I don't know. I guess she likes to hang with him.'' Glenn told T-Dog and stuck another piece of potato in his mouth. ''Ha, what do you know. The redneck might be getting himself a lady friend. Never thought I saw that one coming.'' T-Dog chuckled and bit a piece off of his chicken.

''Well, it might help all of us.'' Glenn said, making T-Dog look at him. ''What'd you mean?''

''Daryl scares the crap out of me.'' Glenn muttered which made T-Dog burst out into a laughing fit.

* * *

_**A/N: Thanks so much for the reviews - your opinion is very much appreciated! - I hope you liked this new chapter. Sorry for any grammar/spelling mistakes. I try to re-read and check it multiple times before posting..**_


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter six**

The next morning, Carl and Riley were sitting in the grass underneath a tree as she was helping him with his homework. ''Yikes kid, this is some hard stuff.'' Riley said while she frowned, looking at the math book in Carl's hands. ''I thought you finished college? Shouldn't this be a piece of cake for you?'' he asked her. ''Math was not one of my strongest subjects, that's for sure! I barely passed it!'' Riley said and Carl smiled.

He looked back at his book but suddenly closed it, laying it down in front of him. ''Do you think they will find her, Riley?'' Carl suddenly asked her. Riley looked at him and frowned, knowing who he was talking about. She didn't want to give him false hope but telling him her thoughts would also be very upsetting.

''I don't know Carl, I hope so. Daryl's been looking nearly every day.'' She said. She had, however, also noticed that Shane, Rick, Andrea and T-Dog hadn't been out that much anymore to go back and forth to the highway where they had initially lost her. Carl sighed and Riley pulled her arm around the boy.

''Daryl is a good tracker. I asked him if I could go with him one time but he turned me down. Saying I would get in the way.'' Carl said with frown on his face. Riley bit her lip. ''Carl, I think he just wants to keep you safe. Just like your parents do, and Shane and the rest.'' She told him as he looked up at her.

''Everybody treats me like a kid here Riley, I don't like it!'' he said in frustration while he grabbed a small piece of grass in front of him, tearing it from the ground. ''I can't go anywhere without my mom calling that I shouldn't walk too far away. And my dad doesn't let me carry a gun either, while the others can!'' He said. ''Carl, Hershel doesn't want people to be using guns on this farm - only when they leave. It's very dangerous out there.'' Riley tried to explain to the young boy.

''Well, I can protect myself just fine!'' Carl stubbornly said as he crossed his arms. ''I know Carl, I know.'' Riley said, gently squeezing his shoulder.

After an hour the two walked back to the tents and Carl noticed that Daryl was sitting in the grass near a tree, skinning some animals he had found during his hunt.

''Oh, do you think he would show me how to do that?'' Carl asked Riley as he pointed towards Daryl. Riley bit her lip; she didn't know how Daryl would reply to such an offer. ''Hm... Try asking him nicely?'' She suggested.

''Well, you come with me. Daryl can be scary but he likes you.'' Carl said as he took a hold of her hand. ''Huh what?'' Riley asked as Carl dragged her towards the spot Daryl was sitting. ''I'm sure he would say yes if you're with me.'' Carl said being oblivious to Riley's blush.

Daryl was on his second squirrel when he heard footsteps nearing him, seeing Riley being dragged by the kid. ''Hi Daryl.'' Carl said politely as they stopped in front of the man. ''Hey.'' Daryl mumbled while he cut into the skin of the squirrel in his hands. Carl looked at what he was doing and was quickly fascinated by it, while Riley looked rather repulsed.

''Can I help you?'' Carl suddenly asked and Daryl looked up from what he was doing to the kid who was still looking at the dead squirrel. He then looked over to Riley and saw her giving him this hopeful look. ''Uh... ok.'' Daryl said and Carl looked up at Riley, winking at her as if were saying _told you I was right!_ Riley smirked as they sat down on the ground in front of Daryl.

''Ok, so ya make the cuts and I'll do the skinning'' Daryl said as he showed Carl how he should cut the animal.

Riley didn't look at the bloody scene that was unfolding in front of her so she didn't throw up. She snuck glances at Daryl and saw how concentrated he was with his work, sometimes giving Carl directions if he saw that the kid was having trouble. She held back a smile. Even though Daryl might be gruff most of the time towards Carl, she knew he liked kids by the way he was helping the young boy. Another major part was the fact that he had been looking for Sophia nearly every single day. She wondered if he actually had kids of him own.

After about an hour Lori suddenly came up and told Carl to go wash his hands because she made him a sandwich for lunch. She had frowned initially when she saw what Carl was doing, but the proud look on his face when he was telling her what he had learned quickly stopped her from scolding him. ''Next time Daryl will teach me how to skin a rabbit mom! How cool is that!?'' Carl said out loud as he walked away with his mother.

As Daryl was cleaning his hands with a nearby water bottle, Riley gave him a clean towel to dry his hands. ''Do you have any children?'' She suddenly asked him and he looked at her with a wide-eyed expression. ''Huh what, nah man - I ain't got no kids.'' He quickly responded.

''Oh, well just seeing you with Carl, sort of got me thinking.'' Riley said. ''Well no.'' Daryl said as Riley saw a faint blush on his cheeks. She smiled as she knew he was probably not used to getting compliments, even though she had been indirect about it.

''It's good though.'' Daryl suddenly said and Riley looked up at him in question. ''I wouldn't want any of my kids growing up in this shit world.'' Daryl replied and Riley nodded. ''I know.. I can't imagine what it would be like.. Just being his age and having this stuff to deal with. He will never be able to have a normal childhood.'' She said as she looked at Carl in the distance, eating his sandwich.

''Well yeah.. Guess they just need to make the most out of it.. Or uh.. somethin' in that direction.'' Daryl said rubbing the back of his neck. Emotional talk was not his kind of thing. ''Something in that direction?'' Riley questioned. ''Man, I don't know woman,'' Daryl grumbled at her and she smiled.

''What do those initials stand for?'' She suddenly questioned him as she noticed the faint letters on the knife he was cleaning. ''My name.'' he said. ''Daryl.. D?'' She pressed and he rolled his eyes. ''Dixon.'' He told her and she nodded. She smiled as she thought how it actually suited him that last name. It sounded sort of.. strong.

''What'chu smilin' for?'' He asked her. ''No reason.'' She told him and looked away. He frowned but didn't ask any further. She was the one person that actually made him wonder constantly what the hell she was thinking but he often bit back his tongue before he could get out any questions.

Riley was tearing out pieces of grass next to her, looking around while Daryl stayed busy with cutting up the meat he just skinned. She bit her lip, trying to come up with some sort of topic to talk about but her mind was blank.

''You hungry?'' She suddenly asked him and he looked up at her in question. ''I mean I saw Carl eating that sandwich, it made me hungry.'' She said to him. ''Sure.'' He replied as he shrugged his shoulders. ''Ok, be right back.'' She said to him and walked off.

''Carol? Do you still have some bread left?'' Riley asked the woman sitting in a lawn chair, busy with getting a stain out of a shirt. ''Uhm, yes there is still some in the caravan. Patricia gave it to me this morning. Are you hungry? I can make you something,'' she told the young woman. ''Oh, no that's ok. I just wanted to make Daryl and myself something. Thanks though!'' Riley replied and walked off. Carol merely smiled while going back to her cleaning. She knew the young woman had a thing for Daryl.

''Dale? You in here?'' Riley said as she knocked on the door of the caravan. The door opened and she saw Dale standing there with a friendly smile on his face. ''Hey Riley, want another book?'' He asked her as he let her in.

''Oh no thanks, I just wanted to make some sandwiches. Daryl and I are hungry.'' She explained and went over to the small kitchen. Dale frowned while scratching the back of his head at the mention of man's name.

''Daryl?'' He asked her as was looking through the cabinets, finding half a loaf of bread that Patricia had made earlier that day and some jars of peanut butter and jelly. ''Uhuh.'' She replied and opened up the jar of peanut butter.

''Riley.. I uh hope you don't mind me saying but.. I have seen you a lot with that man and I was just wondering. Are you sure it's a good idea to hang around him so much?'' He asked her and she frowned while smearing the peanut butter on the slices of bread in front of her.

''How so? He's alright.'' She said. ''No offence Riley, but the man is a bit.. uh-..'' Dale started but she cut him off. ''Yes, perhaps a bit anti-social but it doesn't mean that hates being around people.'' She said and smeared the strawberry jelly on top of the peanut butter.

''I don't mean it like that it's just..'' Dale started again but now Riley turned around facing him. ''Look, I don't know what everyone's problem is with Daryl, but I want no part in it Dale.'' She said and turned around again. She knew Dale wasn't the only one thinking things about Daryl. She had noticed that Daryl was not really speaking with people only if it was absolutely necessary. Most of the time he was either away or in his tent and everyone had respected that, but Riley was set on getting to know him better, being positive that there was more to him than he let on.

''Riley, I mean no offence.'' Dale said and Riley sighed but nodded. ''I just want you to be careful. His brother was very influential on him and believe me, Merle was not a nice person. He kept on getting into fights with other group members, especially with T-Dog just because he wasn't white. And all the women weren't comfortable around him either.'' He told her.

''I heard the story from Glenn, Dale. And ok I get it, but Daryl is not his brother and he isn't a racist nor has he come on to me in that way.'' She said to him as she was finished with her sandwiches. ''He is actually all right if you get to know him. Sure, he might keep his distance and has a bit of a temper at times, but that doesn't mean he's a bad guy. So, you don't need to worry, ok?'' She told him and he frowned but eventually nodded. She quickly put away the jars she used, thanking him before getting out of the caravan.

She saw that Daryl was still sitting in the exact spot she left him. She walked over and noticed that he was finished with cutting the meat and was now staring off to nowhere in particular. ''Here you go.'' She told him as she gave him the sandwich, sitting down next to him. He bit into his sandwich and frowned, looking at what was on it. ''What? No good?'' She asked him before she took a bite of her own sandwich. It tasted fine to her. ''I haven't eaten this since I was a kid.'' He told her and took another bite making her chuckle. ''Yeah, for old times' sake.'' She told him as she smiled.

They were sitting in a comfortable silence which made Riley think about what Dale had said. She wondered how Daryl actually was when his brother had been around. She heard bits and pieces from everyone else but nothing from the man himself. She doubted he would tell her if she asked him about it. His brother was still a very touchy subject. It seemed strange to her that such a strong man like Daryl would let himself be put down by someone.

* * *

The next day, Maggie had invited Riley along to go pick some apples in a nearby apple tree, so after climbing up the ladder, the girls were sitting side by side on a thick branch. ''So, I told Glenn that we could meet up again tonight. My dad Always goes to bed early.'' Maggie was telling Riley as she dropped another apple on the grass beneath them.

''Uhuh..'' Riley merely replied as she was looking out into the distance with an apple in her hand. ''I hope we won't get caught. You will keep watch right?'' Maggie asked Riley while she dropped another apple on the grass. ''Uhuh..'' Riley replied. Maggie frowned as Riley had given the exact same reply and stopped talking while she looked at Riley, who was still watching something in the distance.

She followed Riley's line of sight and saw that a certain redneck was drinking a bottle of water while standing next to his motorcycle. Maggie silently chuckled. ''So, tomorrow when the pigs are flying, I suggest we should take a ride on them, what do you think?'' Maggie asked Riley. ''Sure.'' Riley replied, still staring at the man in the distance, who to her dismay had turned around.

''Oh my god Riley!'' Maggie said out loud while nudging her shoulder with the girl sitting next to her. ''Huh what?'' Riley snapped out of her thoughts at looked at her friend. ''You have got it bad for a certain hunter!'' Maggie laughed. Riley instantly blushed, being caught in her daydream.

''I have no idea what you are talking about.'' She quickly mumbled while she dropped the apple she had been holding in her hand for nearly ten minutes and looked around for another apple to pick from the tree. Yes, she had been practically undressing Daryl with her eyes but Maggie didn't need to know that.

''Yes you do, you were practically drooling.'' Maggie said and Riley slapped her playfully on her shoulder. ''Were not!'' She said completely embarrassed now. ''Oh c'mon, it's just me. We can do some girl talk! I don't really talk to Beth or Patricia about Glenn because my dad can't really know.'' Maggie said. Riley frowned but looked in the distance again, seeing Daryl walking off with his motorcycle while Glenn was tagging along.

''Where are they going?'' Riley asked Maggie. ''Oh, Glenn said that Daryl strangely came up to him and asked if he wanted to go on a run, you know for some supplies.'' Maggie said and shrugged. ''Hm.. ok.'' Riley said with a frown on her face.

''Oh, did you wish he would have asked you along instead?'' Maggie hinted and winked at her friend. ''What? No!'' Riley quickly said, still flushed of embarrassment. To be honest, she would like to go on a run with him all day any day.

''You like him, huh?'' Maggie asked. Riley looked at her friend, frowned but then slowly nodded. ''I don't know Maggie. He's just very closed off but for some reason I just.. want to get to know him some more, you know? I want to be his friend.'' She told her while she felt her cheeks heating up at her own reply. ''Aha, a friend..'' Maggie trailed of knowing Riley was just avoiding the obvious.

''Isn't he a lot older than you?'' Maggie asked while she frowned. ''No.. I mean not really? He's thirty-six, that's nothing.'' Riley said and Maggie smirked. ''Oh whatever age is just a stupid number, it's just like.. twelve years.. no wait, it's eleven.'' Riley said.

''Ok what is it, eleven or twelve?'' Maggie asked in confusion. ''Eleven, it's my birthday soon.'' Riley said. ''Oh my god and you just tell me that now!'' Maggie exclaimed in surprise. ''What? It's not a big deal.'' Riley said and smiled.

''Yes it is! I should make a cake or something!'' Maggie said as Riley chuckled. ''Nah Maggs, that's alright. I don't want to make a big deal out of it.'' Riley said. ''I will make you a cake Riley!'' Maggie said as she crossed her arms stubbornly. Riley laughed since her friend looked like a stubborn teenager at the moment.

''Ok, ok, but how are you going to do that? We don't have any power, so uh.. baking a cake needs to be in an oven right?'' Riley said with a look of confusion on her face. ''Riles! You're living on a farm! We have our ways here to go without electricity?'' Maggie said in a knowing voice and Riley lightly slapped her own forehead. ''Yeah sorry, city girl talking here.'' She mumbled and Maggie laughed.

''Well you better make a lot of cake. There are a lot of people here.'' Riley told her friend. ''No worries, Patricia is great at baking. I will just… uh help her out.'' Maggie quickly added that last sentence and winked as Riley laughed. Maggie was a bit of a tomboy, cooking was probably not her thing.

''Ok, so when is it?'' Maggie asked her friend. ''In two days.'' Riley answered. ''Oh, I better start rummaging through the kitchen!'' Maggie said and quickly stepped on the ladder that was leaning against the apple tree they were sitting in.

''Hey! What about these apples!?'' Riley called out but Maggie had already run off.

* * *

That afternoon, Riley was hanging some wet clothes on a few ropes spread between two trees as she saw Shane out of the corner of her eye walking towards her. She inwardly sighed. He had been trying to strike up a conversation with her every now and then during the days and it was starting to make her feel a bit uncomfortable.

He was asking all sorts of questions and though she liked to talk, he was taking it to the level in which she was actually getting a bit frustrated to talk at all. The way he would keep staring at her throughout the day was becoming awkward as well. She really didn't know what to think of it.

''Hey Riley!'' She suddenly heard Carl call out behind her and she breathed a sigh of relief at hearing the young boy's voice. ''Hey Carl, what were you doing?'' She asked as she saw Shane frown and walk away again.

''Hm, just boring homework.'' The boy said as he sat on the ground facing her.

''Well, keeping up with your education is good.'' Riley said as she hung another shirt over the piece of rope. ''So, it's your birthday in two days huh?'' The boy suddenly said and Riley stopped what she was doing. ''How do you know that?''

''I was overhearing Maggie asking Patricia if she could make a cake and then she told her it was for you.'' Carl explained. Riley chucked. ''You shouldn't eavesdrop on people's conversations Carl.'' She said and hung up a pair of faded jeans that looked quite familiar to her.

''I should go tell my mom, maybe she can make you something. I don't know, do you like sweaters?'' The boy wondered out loud. ''No Carl, don't tell your mom, I don't want people to know. That would be making such a big deal out of it and people have other stuff on their minds here.'' Riley said to him.

''Hmm..'' Carl replied as he frowned. ''But uh.. can I still make you something, like a gift?'' Carl said and Riley couldn't help to hear the hopeful tone in his voice. ''I will keep it a secret, I swear!'' Carl said as he now jumped up. Riley smiled at the look on his face.

''Ok, but don't tell people. The fact that Maggie told Patricia to make a cake for everyone is already too much.'' Riley said to him. ''Ok! I will go make something!'' The boy said and ran off. Riley smiled as she hung up another shirt.

He suddenly walked back. ''What's your last name?'' Carl asked making her frown. ''Uh, it's Jones.'' She told him and he nodded. ''Ok, good to know!'' he said and ran off again before she could ask him why he wanted to know that. She shook her head, that boy was up to something.

* * *

That night before dinner, Daryl and Glenn showed up with more supplies. ''Wow, you guys brought a lot.'' Riley said as she eyed the two big bags they had dropped on the ground in front of her. ''Yup, a lot of canned food, some clothes. Heck, we even found more medicine!'' Glenn said and smiled at her. ''Great!'' She said as she crouched down to open up the bags. ''Be back in a sec.'' Daryl all of a sudden said and walked off towards his tent. Glenn held back a chuckle as he watched the man walk off.

''What are you smiling for?'' Riley's voice suddenly cut through his train of thoughts and he looked back at her. ''Oh, no reason!'' Glenn quickly said as he took the cans from her hands. ''I will put these near the others.'' Glenn said and walked off. Riley frowned. _Men are seriously strange beings_, she thought to herself.

A few hours later after dinner when most of the people were heading off to bed, Riley was placing some of the plates she had dried back in their rightful place and dropped the now dirty kitchen towel she had used in a basket standing next to her feet to be washed tomorrow. After she was finished she looked around seeing Rick and Lori silently entering their tent and Dale chatting with Andrea in a corner near the camping fire.

Glenn appeared out of nowhere, giving her a thumbs up and quickly got into his tent. She chuckled as she knew she was relieved from her watch, covering for Glenn and Maggie. She looked at the caravan and saw that Daryl was the one on watch tonight. She smiled and decided to walk over to him since she hadn't spoken to him all day.

''Whatcha doin'?'' Daryl heard a familiar voice call out from beneath his feet. ''Keeping watch.'' He said, stating the obvious. He heard Riley chuckle and saw her climbing the small ladder leading up to the top of the caravan. She sat down on the roof, dangling her feet from the vehicle, while Daryl was sitting in a lawn chair.

Riley had been keeping him company every now and then while he was on watch. He had told her the first time that she was distracting him from his watch to keep her away, but if he was honest to himself he liked the company. The fact that he merely just liked her company was quickly pushed away the minute it appeared in his head.

For some reason she rarely did what he told her when she somehow seemed to sense that he didn't mean his gruff demands. He had to smirk at the thought. That woman seemed to be as stubborn as him sometimes.

''How's the wound on your shoulder?'' She asked him, making him shrug. ''Alright, it's healed.'' He told her and she nodded. They sat in silence for a few minutes.

''Nights are great here.'' She suddenly said and he looked down at her, seeing she was now lying down facing the sky but looked up at him when she saw him facing her. ''You can really see the stars here. Living in Atlanta made it more difficult as it was too crowded by buildings.'' She told him and he quickly turned back in his chair. ''Nothing new to me.'' He said and peered around him.

''You grew up in the woods, right?'' she asked him. ''In the mountains of North-Georgia.'' He said and she nodded. ''The only nature I would see was when my dad would take me camping during summer holidays. I kept in clean sight though, my dad was always worried I got lost or something since I had a habit of chasing after things that moved, like rabbits and squirrels.'' She said and chuckled at the memory.

''I got lost in the woods as a kid once.'' Daryl suddenly said and Riley looked at the side of his face. ''Was for about nine full days. I lived off of wild berries. Accidently used poison oak as toilet paper, that shit itched like hell.'' Daryl added and Riley had to laugh at the mental image she was getting into her head.

''That is insane Daryl.'' She told him as he shrugged his shoulders. ''When I managed to find my way home, my dad didn't even notice I'd been gone. I walked through the back door and made myself a sandwich.'' He added and Riley frowned. That actually sounded horrible. Her father would have searched with a whole rescue team if that had happened to her. But Daryl had mentioned some bits and pieces of his past to her. His dad had apparently been no sweetheart.

''Were you and your brother alone, when this all happened?'' she asked him, trying to steer their conversation away from his parents. He looked at her, nodding. ''Actually went to Atlanta since it was mentioned that it was safe. Ran into the others along the way.'' He told her and she nodded.

''You were with friends, right?'' he asked. She looked kind of surprised about the fact that he still remembered that. ''Yeah, I came across them when I was leaving the city.'' She told him. ''You were alone?'' he asked her, kind of shocked that she had traveled alone first. ''Yeah, when I got home from my job, nobody really knew what was going on. I just heard reports on people biting each other as if they were crazy.'' She said and sighed as she sat back up, wrapping her arms around her knees, recalling back the memories.

''What happened?'' Daryl suddenly asked and she looked down. She had suppressed those memories for quite some time now, never telling her story to anyone in camp. Not even Maggie had heard everything, just bits and pieces that Riley was able to share with her. However, when Daryl asked her it seemed as if she wanted to tell him all her deepest darkest secrets just like that.

''I found my dad bleeding heavily on the kitchen floor, while my mom was nowhere to be seen. My dad was still conscious, he told me to grab my things and run to my uncle who lived a few blocks away. He told me be quick, since he told me my mom had attacked him. He had locked her in the basement because she was acting out, she had bit him. After I managed to get him over to the couch, I quickly ran into my room getting some clothes, running downstairs again but when I got there this strange man leaning over my dad.

I asked him what he was doing but then he turned around and he looked so strange. Pale, his face just... looked... dead. His mouth was covered in blood.'' Riley explained as she frowned. ''He suddenly stood up and slowly began walking towards me; I panicked and quickly ran out of the house. I just... just left my parents there to die.'' She said, barely finishing her sentence as she looked at her knees.

He frowned as he heard her story. That must have been a horrible sight to see. At least he and his brother were not leaving anyone behind. Well, not that anyone wanted to be hanging around them in the first place. Especially with his brother acting like a dick to everyone they had passed along the way towards Atlanta.

''They were already gone.'' He finally told her and she looked at him. In a way, it was somewhat comforting to hear that he didn't judge her for it. She already felt guilty about it, even though she knew that she couldn't have done anything to prevent it. But still, they were her parents, the ones that had protected her her entire life.

Their conversation turned silent. Riley suddenly got up and brushed off her jeans. ''I should probably get to bed, I'm beat.'' She told him and he nodded. ''Goodnight.'' She said to him, giving him a small smile before she climbed down the ladder. ''Night.'' She heard him say and she quickly walked back to her tent, leaving the man alone with his thoughts.

* * *

_**A/N: Thanks so much for the reviews! I hope you liked this chapter, let me know what you think. :)**_


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter seven**

The day after Riley had told Maggie it was her birthday, she hadn't seen either Maggie nor Patricia or Beth coming out of the farmhouse. She knew something was up but she thought it would be better just to give in to what Maggie wanted do.

She sighed and walked to small amount of clothes lying in a basket that still needed to be sewed up. Thankfully her mom had taught her to sew since the men on camp seemed to be getting a lot of holes into their shirts from walking in and out of the woods when going out for supplies or looking for Sophia.

As she picked up a sleeveless shirt, she inwardly smiled as she noticed it was Daryl's. He seemed to have the habit of getting holes in his shirts and jeans more often than the others, probably due to the fact that he was nearly searching for Sophia every day. She picked up a needle and thread, pulled up a lawn chair and sat beside the basket of clothes, starting with her work.

Being busy for about ten minutes, she heard footsteps slowly approach. ''Hey Riley.'' She suddenly heard Carol say, while she was almost finished with Daryl's shirt. ''Hey.'' Riley smiled at the older woman who sat down next to her. ''They seem to get holes in their shirts as if it were a hobby.'' Carol said as she too picked up a shirt. ''Tell me about it.'' Riley said. She was now done with Daryl's shirt and neatly folded it on her lap.

''I think you would be a good friend for him.'' Carol suddenly said and Riley looked up in confusion. ''For Daryl.'' Carol stated as she was checking the shirt she was holding in her hands for any holes. ''I don't uh.. know what you mean Carol.'' Riley awkwardly said while she couldn't help but blush at Carol's comment. She heard the older woman softly laugh.

''It's quite obvious sweetheart, I mean if you notice the small signs. He was very different in the beginning when I met him. Arrogant, rude and distant.'' Carol told her. ''But ever since he got separated from his brother, he has been undergoing small changes. And the fact that he has been looking for my little girl every day, shows he cares.''

Riley nodded and picked up another shirt, which was Carl's. ''I don't really know that much about Merle, just what people have been telling me here.'' Riley said and Carol nodded. ''Well, you could already tell the difference between the two brothers. Merle was the loud mouth while Daryl kept himself more in the background.'' Carol explained.

''Was Merle really that bad?'' Riley questioned. ''Well, I kept my distance when he was around. He seemed very unpredictable.'' Carol explained. ''But when Daryl lost him, he still had been keeping his distance from us, not really in the group but also not apart from it.'' She added and Riley nodded.

''But then you came along and I noticed he has been talking more, especially during dinner.'' Carol said and smiled at her. ''I guess it's because I'm such a chatterbox.'' Riley said and chuckled. ''I can't keep quiet and I just poke him with questions and stories.'' She said as Carol smiled. ''He needs that Riley, someone to get him out of his shell.'' Carol replied as she folded up the shirt she had finished repairing.

When Carol and Riley were done sewing up all the shirts that were in the basket, Riley went along camp handing everyone their repaired clothes. When she stopped by Daryl's tent to give him back his shirt and jeans she saw the zipper of the entrance was open. When he was away, his tent was normally zipped shut. She frowned. _I didn't know he was back yet. _She assumed he had been gone already to look in the woods again.

''Uh Daryl, you in there?'' She asked. She heard something drop and then heard him curse out loud. ''Are you ok?'' she asked, quickly opening the flap of the tent. As she poked her head inside, she saw him sitting there on his sleeping bag with his back towards her.

''Christ woman, can't you knock!'' He snapped as he quickly placed the item he was holding underneath a blanket. ''Uh well sorry, I didn't know you could even knock on a tent.'' Riley mumbled, rolling her eyes as she walked into his tent. He turned around and saw her standing there, holding some clothes in her arms.

''What'chu want?'' He asked her and inwardly winced at how rude he had said it.

''I repaired your clothes. Shit, you had a lot of holes in them Daryl.'' She smiled, unfazed by his rude reply as she placed the neatly folded shirt and jeans in the corner of his tent. She spotted a pile of unfolded clothes and looked at him. ''Are those clean or dirty?'' She pointed. ''Uh.. dunno.'' Daryl merely shrugged. ''Daryl, I know we are living in tents but you have to at least separate them in order for us to know what to wash.'' She explained to him with a smile.

''Let's see,'' she said as she went through his clothes. ''Dirty, dirty, clean.. dirty, clean.'' She said to herself, placing his clothes into two piles.

Daryl on the other hand was merely staring at the woman that was sitting there in the corner of his tent. Her long hair was pulled to one side in a thick braid again, giving him clear view of her back. He noticed a birthmark on her neck as he trailed his eyes over her body while she was sitting on her knees with her back towards him chatting away, holding up various items while figuring out if she would even get those dried blood stains out of them.

However, Daryl was zoning out while eying the woman. Nice, soft and curvy. She wasn't anything like those skinny bone ass chicks he often came across at the bar with Merle. He was unable to approach a woman while being sober, his own insecurities getting the most out of him. Half of the time he was merely barking at them to get lost because they made him feel uncomfortable. His brother would always taunt him to get laid, making him shit-face drunk and throw an equally drunk woman at him to take home for the night. The few he did had, he could barely remember about.

Riley, being oblivious to his staring, thought it was good to actually do something nice for him, even if it was only such a simple task. She realized during her time at camp that he actually did a lot for the group, even though he might not been realizing it himself. Providing protection, food, searching for Sophia. She could at least help wash his clothes and give him a well cooked meal. Though it might be seen as such a stereotypical woman's job, she didn't mind it at all. Secretly she liked doing those things just for him because she knew he probably wasn't used to people caring for him. She neatly folded up the small amount of clean clothes he still had laying on the ground.

''There, now it's sorted.'' She said and smiled up at him. He seemed in deep thought and she cocked her head. ''You in there?'' She asked and he suddenly looked up from his thoughts, frowning. ''I'll wash these.'' She said as she suddenly stood up and picked up a pile of dirty clothes. ''See you later.'' She winked at him and stepped out of the tent.

Daryl merely stared at her retreating form, his mind only on the woman that just had sat in his tent. He looked at the folded clothes in the corner of his tent and frowned. He didn't understand why she being so friendly towards him, heck he was mostly telling people to get lost. But she was different. He didn't get why she was making such an effort in getting to know him.

* * *

The morning after, Riley woke up by a sudden pull at the zipper of her tent's entrance. As she looked up from her sleeping bag she saw Carl's heading poking in. ''Hey Riley!'' He whispered cheerfully. ''Can I come in?'' He asked her and she nodded while smiling as she sat up. He quickly got in and closed up the zipper behind him. She saw that he was still wearing his pajamas so she guessed that he had sneakily walked out of his parent's tent. She looked at her watch and actually noticed that it was only 5 am in the morning. She watched him turn around and all of a sudden he started singing quietly.

''Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you. Happy birthday dear Riley! Happy birthday to you!'' He whispered, ending pretty loudly at the two last words and Riley had to laugh as she clapped. As she was looking at Carl, she saw a shadow appear behind the entrance of her tent, but it quickly moved away again. She shrugged and looked back at Carl. ''Thank you Carl.'' She said as the boy sat down next to her.

''So, I made you a gift!'' He told her and gave her a plastic bag. ''Sorry but we don't have wrapping paper here.'' He said as he frowned. ''That's ok Carl.'' Riley said as she smiled at him. She opened up the bag and saw a thick dark red woolen scarf inside of it. She took it out and noticed that it had the letters 'RJ' stitched into it in a white color.

''I sort of.. asked my mom if she had something useful that I could give to you. But I stitched the letters in myself!'' He said, already telling her that he told his mother about her birthday. She had to hold back a chuckle.

''I know you can't wear it now, but it will come pretty handy during the winter, or like.. at night or something when it's colder.'' Carl trailed off as he nervously stared at Riley. ''Oh Carl, it's really pretty and very thoughtful. Thank you!'' She said and she hugged the boy in her arms. She then kissed his cheek and Carl blushed like crazy.

''Yeah I mean it's not much so.. I would have gotten you something different if..'' He started but Riley shook her head. ''No way, this is awesome.'' She said as she placed the scarf loosely around her neck. It was pretty hot to wear it right now, but she wanted to do the kid a favor. ''I've never owned a scarf with my own initials on it.'' She said and smiled at him as he had a proud look on his face. ''Cool! I wonder when Maggie will come with that cake though, I haven't had cake in ages.'' He said and Riley laughed.

''Carl! Hey Carl where are you?'' both of them suddenly heard Rick whisper pretty loudly near the tent. ''Ok, that's my cue. It's pretty early isn't it.'' Carl said as he snickered when Riley nodded. ''You better go back to bed kid. But thanks for the gift, it's great.'' Riley said and give him another hug, making the boy blush again.

He quickly got out of the tent and Riley heard Rick scold his son for sneaking off like that. ''Why are you so red in your face boy, what did you do?'' She heard Rick question and she had to laugh. She took off the scarf from her neck and stared at it in her hands. It was such a thoughtful gift from the boy.

Suddenly a shadow appeared in front of her tent again and she frowned, that was the second time she had seen it. She got up and opened the zipper of her tent to see what was going on. However, when she looked outside she didn't see anyone. ''Ok, I'm going insane or something.'' She mumbled to herself. She went back inside her tent, and decided to still catch a few hours of sleep.

When she woke up, she quickly dressed and stepped out of her tent. She saw Carl waving at her in the distance, with a big smile plastered on his face when he noticed she was actually wearing the scarf he'd given her.

She saw in the corner of her eyes that Glenn stepped out of his tent. He motioned for her to come over to him. ''Happy birthday!'' He whispered to her and pulled her into a sudden hug when she was within arm's reach.

''Ah thanks Glenn,'' she said to him as they both pulled back, ''but how did you know?'' She questioned. He flushed since Daryl had been the one to actually tell him in the first place during their run. He then went over to Maggie yesterday night and she made him promise not to tell anyone since Riley didn't want people to know. ''Uh.. Maggie?'' he sort of lied and Riley chuckled.

''I wanted to give you something though, but Maggie said you didn't want anything.'' He frowned. ''No, it's alright - I did tell Maggie that.'' She smiled at him. ''Well, too bad because I did get you something,'' he smiled and went back to his tent, making the young woman frown.

''I know it's not much but I thought you might like it?'' he said and he handed her a plastic bag. ''What's this?'' Riley smiled and opened the bag, eying a brand new bag pack. ''I noticed yours was kind of worn out, so I thought you might want a new one.'' He said and nervously rubbed the back of his neck.

''Oh thank you Glenn this is great!'' she said and examined the new bag. It was a dark brown sturdy leather backpack full of pockets which she could stuff a lot of things in. It was a nice gift since her old bag had indeed been nearing the end of its life. ''It's even water proof.'' He mentioned and she chuckled. ''Thank you so much Glenn, you didn't need to do that.'' She said and gave him another hug.

''No problem,'' he said as he was blushing while she smiled at him and slung the backpack over her shoulder. Luckily to him she didn't seem to realize he had gotten the backpack before he actually had spoken to Maggie, but he thought it would probably be better if he kept Daryl out of this conversation.

''So, did you get any other presents?'' He curiously asked her. ''Oh yeah, Carl got me this,'' she said as she smiled while holding up the ends of her scarf. He nodded and smiled. ''That's nice, though it's a bit warm.'' He said and she chuckled. ''I know, but it's sweet of him to do.'' She said. ''Yeah, I think he has a crush on you.'' Glenn said and she slapped him lightly on his chest. ''What he does!'' he exclaimed. ''Oh Glenn stop it, the poor kid is just being nice.'' She said. ''Yup and he likes you.'' He smiled and she rolled her eyes.

After Lori and Carol had made some scrambled eggs, they all sat in a circle like they always did. Riley smiled up at Daryl as he took his seat next to her. Over the past few days she actually had been scooting the chair he would always use a bit closer to them so he was actually sitting inside the circle. If he had been noticing it, he didn't say anything about it.

''Morning.'' She said and he just grunted back in reply. He noticed she already had an extra plate sitting on her lap to give to him. He took it from her hand without saying a word and started eating.

Unbeknownst to Riley, Daryl had been standing in front of her tent for at least two times earlier this morning. He had brought her something back from his run with Glenn and he had been anxious to actually give it to her, failing twice since he chickened out.

_Stupid pussy. _He thought to himself as he shoved a spoon of scrambled eggs into his mouth. If Merle had seen him like this, he would have kicked his ass. It was pathetic, Dixon men did not to such things. _Pining over some girl, ya idiot. Getting her a gift what the fuck! All that fine ass out there and you chase after one girl - how fuckin' pathetic! _Daryl shook his head, trying to get rid of Merle's voice snapping at him in his mind.

He pretended not to notice the looks Glenn was giving him, as if the guy had been trying to encourage him. He scowled at Glenn, who simply smiled back at him. Daryl had noticed that for whatever reason, Glenn didn't seem to shrink back anymore at his glares like he normally did.

An hour later, Daryl was ready to go into the woods to catch some meat for dinner that day. After he had slung his crossbow over his shoulder, he made his way over to the edge of camp. He noticed that Riley was pumping water in the distance. He frowned, quickly walking back to his tent. _Just get it the fuck over with Dixon, _he thought.

''Isn't the kid supposed to do this?'' Riley all of a sudden heard a familiar voice grumble. She spun around. ''Shit! You scared me Daryl!'' Riley exclaimed as she pressed her hand to her chest. He rolled his eyes at her. ''You should be more aware of your surroundings.'' He mentioned to her. ''Yeah yeah..'' She mumbled and turned around again to start pumping.

He looked at her while she was filling another bottle with water. He fidgeted with the item that was behind his back. _Ok fuck it! _He thought to himself. ''Hey uh.. here.'' Riley heard him say and she stopped pumping water, turning around. She looked at him strangely, seeing him holding a crossbow.

''What uh..?'' She questioned and he took a step towards her. ''A crossbow. A lighter one.'' He told her and pressed the crossbow into her hands. She raised her eyebrows in question at him.

''You asked for training a while back?'' He reminded her, as he was beginning to get agitated. Wasn't she the one who asked him for a lesson in the first place? Was it a joke or something? Didn't she mean it? Was he a total dumbass to actually go through with his idea? _What the fuck was I even thinking?! _He angrily thought to himself. She got him all worked up, making him do things he normally wouldn't, getting him out of his comfort zone.

Meanwhile Riley's eyes widened as she thought back at their conversation. She didn't think he would actually go ahead and keep his word on that.

''Wow, thanks Daryl. This is amazing!'' She said as she looked at the weapon in her hands. It was definitely lighter than the one he used. ''Where did you get it?'' She asked him. ''On the supply run the other day.'' He explained and she nodded.

''Wow, I can be the next tomb raider or something.'' She said and smiled up at him. He frowned _there ain't any tombs here? _He thought, being confused by her comment. She stared at the weapon with a smile on her face, raising it in front of her. However, after some moments realization sank in.

It could not have been a coincidence that he gave her this crossbow on the exact same day as her birthday. Glenn and he went on a supply run two days ago so he could have just given it to her then. He actually remembered it was her birthday? And this was a present?

''Is uh.. this for my birthday?'' She carefully asked him, trying not to assume things. He shrugged his shoulders not really replying, feeling a bit awkward as he looked at her face. He had never got someone something for their birthday, not even his own mom. When he found the new crossbow during the supply run with Glenn, he had a bit of an argument with the Asian since he was asking all sorts of questions as to why he was taking along a new one, which was definitely smaller and lighter.

When he mentioned it was for Riley, it got all sorts of questions running as to why he wanted to give her something like that. After several minutes of hearing a string of questions, Daryl finally snapped at him and blurted out it was for her birthday to shut him up. He remembered telling Glenn he would punch him in the face if he would ever rat him out.

''So.. yeah whenever you want we can uh..'' Daryl started to mumble as he saw her placing the crossbow on the ground. He was suddenly cut off in his rambling when Riley flung her arms around his neck. He immediately stiffened at the close contact.

''It's great, thank you.'' She whispered as she closed her eyes and hugged him tightly in her arms, even though she felt him go rigid the moment she touched him. ''I can't believe that you remembered it was my birthday.'' She added as she recalled the memory of telling it to him when they were discussing their ages.

He awkwardly hovered his hands behind her back, not knowing what to do. He was attacked again by the familiar strawberry scent and he took a deep breath. She smiled and after a few minutes she let go of him.

After picking up the crossbow from the ground again, she stared at the weapon in awe. She hadn't seen this coming at all. Daryl didn't seem that kind of man, but he definitely had proved her wrong. ''So, yeah I gotta go catch us some dinner.'' Daryl awkwardly said as he turned around to leave, desperately trying to get out of this situation.

''Daryl?'' Riley said as she touched his wrist making him look at her. ''Thank you.'' She said and suddenly pressed her lips against his cheek. He froze up and when she stepped away he didn't say anything but merely nodded and walked away. She watched the man walk off and looked at her very own crossbow, smiling from ear to ear. _That was clearly unexpected_.

* * *

A few hours later, as Riley was helping Carol doing some laundry, Maggie, Patricia and Beth suddenly came walking towards her carrying a big chocolate cake. ''Oh my.'' She whispered to herself as the three women holding the cake began to sing out loud.

Riley blushed as she saw the majority of the other camp members looking rather confused at first but then started to sing along with the women. ''Make a wish!'' Beth said and Riley bent down to blow out the twenty-five candles. Everyone was clapping and eying the chocolate cake.

''Oh, why didn't you tell me it was your birthday?'' Andrea asked as she came up to Riley to congratulate her. ''Oh, I didn't want to make a big deal out of it.'' Riley said as she hugged Andrea. After that, the other members of the group quickly followed to congratulate her.

''Carl made me swear not to tell anyone.'' Lori said as she eyed the scarf that Riley had loosely wrapped around her neck, even though she was wearing shorts and a sleeveless top due to the heat. ''It was really thoughtful, thank you.'' Riley said as she hugged Carl's mother.

''Congrats Riley.'' Shane said as he kissed her on her cheeks, hugged her and then kissed her forehead. ''Thank you.'' Riley said a bit stiffly but managed to force a believable smile.

Daryl, who had been back for little over an hour from his hunt, was standing a bit away from the group as he saw the whole scene unfolding. The way Shane was practically all over Riley was making him flare up in anger again. He wasn't like that, shit he already froze up when she kissed him.

Physical contact and he didn't really went together. Even though he had his moments where he just wanted to push Riley against a tree and have his way with her. ''You're not going to congratulate her?'' He suddenly heard a female voice say and saw Carol standing next to him.

He eyed the woman as she held up a plate with some chocolate cake on it which he took. ''Already did.'' He said and looked away. Carol smiled, knowing that the man was developing a soft spot for the young woman.

''Wow, we should celebrate birthdays more often yo! This cake is the shit!'' T-Dog exclaimed to Glenn as he took a big bite of his chocolate cake. ''Really! Whose birthday is next? Hell, I will offer to age a year tomorrow if nobody is having his birthday tomorrow!'' he added and some of the other group members laughed.

''How in the hell did you even manage to make a cake like that?'' T-Dog asked Patricia who was surprisingly standing amongst the others. ''Farm girls, we have to keep our secrets.'' Patricia replied and T-Dog laughed.

''So, how are you liking your birthday so far?'' Maggie asked Riley as they were sitting together in the grass eating their chocolate cake. ''Great, awesome cake and been getting gifts.'' Riley mentioned with a smile on her face.

''Glenn told me about that! I can't believe Daryl was the one that knew it was your birthday first.'' Maggie told her and Riley stopped eating. ''What? I thought you were the one that told Glenn?'' Riley said and Maggie shook her head.

''No, he came back from that supply run and he said he got you a gift. He said Daryl got you one and he wanted to give you something as well.'' Maggie replied, making Riley frown. Maggie chuckled. ''I think he didn't want to say it was Daryl that gave him the idea, I mean imagine what Daryl would do to him?'' Maggie said and Riley rolled her eyes.

''He's not that bad Maggie.'' Riley told her and this time Maggie was the one rolling her eyes. ''Yes, to you he's not.'' Maggie said, wiggling her eyebrows at her friend suggestively making Riley blush.

''So, what did he get you?'' Maggie asked, being curious since Glenn didn't mention it. ''A crossbow.'' Riley said and smiled. ''What? A crossbow, why would he give you that?'' Maggie wondered. ''Well, this one time when I was in his tent-'' Riley started, making Maggie widen her eyes at her friend. ''No, nothing like that!'' Riley quickly said and Maggie chuckled.

''We just started talking. I asked if he would give me some lessons, but his crossbow is pretty heavy.'' Riley said. ''Wow, Daryl handing out crossbow lessons. You gotta be very special Riles, he won't let anyone else near that thing, let alone teach someone how to use such a weapon.'' Maggie said making Riley chuckle.

''I mean really… he seems pretty rough around the edges, like a caveman.'' She added and Riley laughed at her comment, recalling the fact that she had actually one time called Daryl that straight to his face.

''Nah, I think he's just a loner and not so good around people.'' She told her friend who raised one eyebrow at her. ''Well he's sure good around you.'' Maggie teased and Riley blushed. ''I know he does have a different background from most of the people around here. He might be gruff but he can be nice if he wants to. I hope we're friends now.'' Riley said in a hopeful voice and Maggie had to laugh at the dreamy face her friend was making.

''Friends uhuh, right.'' Maggie said to her friend in a knowing voice. ''Shut up Maggie!'' Riley said as she slapped her friend lightly on her shoulder again who laughed. ''We sound like a bunch of teenage girls talking about their first crush.'' Maggie said and Riley chuckled. She definitely had a thing for the redneck.

* * *

**_A/N: Thank you all for the reviews, they really make my day! I've been noticing that I have been getting more followers to my story and people have been favoring it, which is awesome since I'm practically a newbie! I really appreciate it. ;) Anyways, I hope you've enjoyed this chapter and that I did an 'ok' job on it.. Daryl is so difficult to write. :/ I would love to hear comments and/or possible feedback, I will always reply back. - Happy Holidays everyone! :)_**


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter eight**

_Ok, this is getting annoying. _Riley sighed as she was sitting in the grass staring up at the sky. She wasn't allowed to do anything around camp since it was her birthday. She had been bored out of her mind because she didn't have anything to keep her occupied.

To make matters worse, Daryl had also left to look for Sophia, so she didn't have a chance to strike up another conversation with him. She quickly scolded herself as she thought about it. He was looking for a little girl that was lost in the woods and here she was sitting like a lovesick teenager, how could she be so selfish?!

She sighed and bit her lip. She just wanted to ask if he would give her a crossbow lesson today but he seemed to be avoiding her when everyone was eating their cakes. He was keeping his distance while she was surrounded by everyone. She frowned at the thought. Perhaps he regretted giving her something for her birthday.

A few moments later, she decided to go the stables since Maggie told her this morning that one of the horses was pregnant, making her rather curious. After heading into the direction of the horses, she suddenly felt two hands grab her waist. ''Aah!'' She yelled out loud in fear, thinking that a walker was attacking her. ''What's up girly!?'' She suddenly heard Shane's voice call out to her as she turned around.

''Shane, you scared me! I thought you were a walker!'' Riley snapped at him as she slapped him on his shoulder. ''Oh, sorry.'' He grinned at her, while not letting go of her waist. She frowned at him but decided to let the matter go. ''So, uh what do you want?'' She asked as she took a hold of his wrists for him to let go of her waist.

''Well, I thought we maybe could do something nice for your birthday?'' He asked as he took a hold of her hands. ''Like what?'' She asked a bit doubtful. ''Uh, maybe have a walk? I saw this place near the river one time when scouting around, I'm sure you would like it.'' He told her as he let go of her hands and smiled.

Riley bit her lip, she was bored as hell and a walk seemed nice. She hadn't left the farm since Daryl had brought her in. Though Shane made her feel uncomfortable, she thought perhaps it was all in her head. As she saw him smiling at her she pushed away her thoughts. They could be friends right? Maybe spending some time with him would perhaps do the trick.

''C'mon, you haven't been off this land since you got here, don't you want to check out the area?'' He asked, as if he was reading her thoughts.

''What about walkers?'' She asked him. ''No worries, I got these ones right here.'' He told her as he patted two big knives that were hanging from his belt and he took out a gun from his back pocket. Riley thought about it for a while. To be honest she was bored stiff now that everyone told her not to do any chores due to her birthday. ''Ok, but not too far.'' She eventually agreed and Shane nodded, taking her hand in his and began to walk.

''Where are they going?'' Glenn asked T-Dog as they were cutting wood and he had seen the pair walk off into the woods. ''Dunno man, he's probably showing her around or something.'' T-Dog replied as he dropped another woodblock on the ground.

''You sure that's safe? Walkers can turn up anywhere.'' Glenn said, expressing his concern for Riley. ''It's Shane; he can take care of himself.'' T-Dog said. ''It's not him I'm worried about.'' Glenn sighed but shook his head, picking up another piece of wood.

''Yeah but, c'mon Riley is safe with him.'' T-Dog mentioned. ''Yeah but I think he likes her a little too much.'' Glenn replied. He had been noticing the glances Shane had been giving Riley and that he seemed to strike up conversations with her a lot. Riley never told him anything about it but he could sense it made her feel uncomfortable.

''Shit, that's gonna cause some trouble in camp then.'' T-Dog said, placing another piece of wood on the big wooden block in front of him. ''I mean I wouldn't want that redneck coming after me with his crossbow!'' T-Dog explained and Glenn chuckled. More people around camp began to see bits and pieces of the bond Riley and Daryl were beginning to form. Disturbing that might cause a hell of a lot of trouble.

* * *

''So, even when I was a little boy, I knew I wanted to become a cop.'' Shane told Riley as they were walking through the woods. ''The whole protecting people idea?'' Riley asked him. ''Yup. I like taking care of people.'' He told her and smiled. After a few minutes they reached an open spot and Riley saw the river Shane mentioned earlier.

''Pretty cool huh?'' He told her as they stepped out into the clearing. ''Yes.'' Riley said and smiled as they sat down near the edge of the river. They pulled off their shoes and dipped their bare feet in the water. ''Wow, that's cold!'' Riley said and Shane laughed.

''Nice toes.'' Shane commented as he pointed at her red painted toe nails. Riley grinned while holding up one foot, wiggling her toes. ''Yeah, believe it or not but I actually carry that nail polish in my bag.'' She told him and chuckled. ''Can't fight walkers without colorful toenails!''

''That's what I like about you.'' Shane all of a sudden said. ''Even though the world has ended, you still are able to hold a sense of humor.'' Riley smiled at his compliment. ''Thanks Shane.'' She said as she patted his arm in a friendly gesture. ''I can stun walkers with my humor while you shoot them in the head.'' She told him and chuckled.

However, she stopped when he took her hand in his. ''You know Riley, I don't know if you noticed but.. I sort of like you, a lot.'' He told her as he now looked into her eyes. Riley flushed. ''I uh.. don't know what to say Shane.'' She stuttered awkwardly at his confession, trying to pull back her hand but he now held it firmly in both of his hands.

''I thought maybe, if you would like it.. We could, perhaps be more than friends?'' He asked her as he brushed a stray of hair from her eyes. Riley was in shock at the movement, this was too much. ''I know you're perhaps a bit young but age is just a number right? So, what do you say, Riley? Want to start something with this cop?'' He asked her as he slowly moved his head towards her, looked at her eyes, to her lips and back up again.

Riley finally seemed to snap out of her shocked state and quickly pulled her hand away, standing up. ''I uh.. I'm sorry Shane but I don't uh.. feel that way about you,'' she awkwardly said while she didn't look at him.

''What? Why? You got some other fella pining over you or something?'' Shane said as he now stood in front of her. ''What? No, that's not it.'' She stuttered, however he didn't believe her one bit.

''C'mon Riley, who is it? Glenn? T-Dog? Ha shit, Dale? Nah he's too old. I mean it couldn't be the redneck, he's unable to act normal around women, let alone woo one.'' Shale laughed out loud and Riley got angry.

''That's not true! And stop calling him a redneck!'' She yelled at him. Shane looked up, the smile vanishing from his face, realization hitting him as he stared at her face.

''So it's..'' He started but all of a sudden they heard groaning coming from behind some trees. Riley froze as she heard the noise and Shane quickly turned around to face whatever was coming for them.

''Shit, stay back.'' He said as he pulled Riley behind him. Suddenly they saw four walkers stepping from behind the trees. ''Oh no, Shane what do we do!?'' Riley said as she began to panic. Shane quickly took the two knifes from his back and handed her one. ''You take those two, while I take those big ones.'' He whispered to her, pointing at the walkers.

Riley's hand was shaking while she held on to the knife that Shane had given her. The last time she saw walkers, she was with a big group that was heavily armed, now it was just the two of them. She breathed in and out as she saw Shane charging the two big walkers, one instantly fell to the ground as Shane stabbed his knife in its head.

Riley saw a walker shuffling towards her, a woman whose face was half gone. Riley quickly pushed away her fears, and ran towards it, stabbing the walker in its head. The blood from the impact of the knife splattered all over her top and her neck. She coughed, holding back the urge to puke.

''Incoming!'' She heard Shane yell and she saw the other thin looking walker making its way over to her, while Shane was now stabbing another walker that appeared from behind a bush. She ran up to it again, stabbing it in the head, only this time her knife got jammed.

''Shit fuck, get out! Get OUT!'' She yelled as the walker fell to the ground, taking her with it. ''Riley behind you!'' She heard Shane call out while he was struggling with another walker. As she looked behind her, she saw a walker coming up towards her, a big bald guy. Her eyes grew wide as the walker was nearly towering over her.

She quickly looked back from the fallen walker and pulled with all her might at the knife still sticking in its head, using her foot for leverage. As she finally got it loose, she turned around and saw the walker was bending over to bite her.

''Aagh!'' She yelled out loud and stabbed the walker right between its eyes. The impact of the knife in the walker's made a sickening sound and it dropped motionless in front of her knees. Riley breathed heavily, now covered in blood.

She heard footsteps coming towards her and on instinct she raised the knife in her hands, turning around - ready to stab anything that would come near her. ''Shit it's just me!'' Shane said as he held up his hands in surrender. Shane looked at the woman sitting in between three dead walkers, like she got drowned in a pool of blood.

He mentally cursed himself for being so stupid. He knew he was going to get hell when they would get back to camp. Rick didn't even know they had left and he had always been the one to warn people that they should know where everyone was at all times in order to prevent accidents.

''C'mon, we better get out of here before more walkers might show up from all the screaming.'' He told her after he had quickly got their shoes that were laying on the grass and grabbed her hand to lead her through the woods.

* * *

Meanwhile back at camp, Daryl was just coming back from his tracking. Still finding nothing related to Sophia, he had to make do with catching some rabbits. Hanging the dead animals from a nearby tree to skin later, he looked around camp, searching for a particular someone. He wanted to start teaching Riley how to shoot with the crossbow he had given her.

He looked around and saw Lori and Carol washing clothes in the distance as Carl was playing some sort of board game, while Rick was cutting wood and T-Dog piling together the wooden blocks. He turned over at the caravan and saw Dale keeping watch.

_Where is she? _He wondered as he walked over to her tent. He saw that the flap of the entrance of her tent was open, and he quickly looked around to see if he wasn't being watched. As everyone was not paying attention at the moment he quickly looked into her tent, which was empty. He frowned and scanned over the field. He suddenly felt this feeling of dread wash over him.

He saw Andrea and Glenn coming from the house and quickly marched over to them. If there was anyone who would know where she was it had to be the Asian.

''Yo China man!'' He gruffly said to Glenn as the young guy stopped in front of him, while Andrea shook her head at how he called Glenn and kept on walking. ''Uh yeah?'' Glenn replied. ''Where's Riley?'' He demanded to know. ''Oh uh, I saw her and Shane walk into the woods about two hours ago.'' He told him.

''What!? They are alone in the fuckin' woods!?'' Daryl angrily snapped at him and Glenn did his best not to shrink back at the harsh tone the redneck was using. Daryl's mind was spinning to think what in the hell Shane was doing with Riley in the woods. Why would she even run off with the man in the first place? He had never seen her taking an interest in the man. _Fuck! Why do I even think about all this shit?! _He thought to himself, confused as to why he was getting so worked up about this whole ordeal. And like always, him being confused turned right into anger.

''Woh, easy Daryl what's wrong?'' Rick all of a sudden called out as he neared the two men with T-Dog right behind him when they heard Daryl freak out. ''Shane took Riley into the woods with him! Is he fuckin' insane!? The place could be crawlin' with walkers!'' Daryl angrily yelled to the man in front of him.

''What?'' Rick said in surprise. He didn't know that Shane and Riley had left camp, thinking they were both in their tents. ''Yeah, you should keep a better watch on your fuckin' friend, Grimes!'' Daryl said as he now shoved Rick away.

''Wait, where are you going?'' Rick asked as Daryl was walking away into the direction of the woods. The whole camp was now watching the scene that was unfolding in front of them. ''I'm going out to find her! Last time she was fucking bleedin' to death when she was alone in the woods!'' Daryl spat as he kept on walking, not paying any attention to his surroundings.

''Daryl, we should go with a group, you can't just go alone!'' Rick called out as he ran after Daryl. ''Don't tell me what ta do!'' Daryl snapped at him. ''I can do whatever the hell I wa-..'' Daryl started but was cut off by Carol.

''Oh my god!'' They both heard the older woman call out. They quickly looked in her direction and saw her staring at the woods in shock. They both followed her line of sight and saw two bloodied figures coming out of the woods. ''Shit!'' T-Dog said as he had reached Daryl and Rick. The three of them ran towards the pair.

''Shane, where the hell were you! You know you can't leave camp without warning someone!'' Rick said in frustration as he stopped in front of the pair. ''We had it covered man.'' Shane said as he wiped the sweat of his forehead. Daryl only had eyes for the woman that was standing beside Shane, clearly in a state of shock.

''What happened?'' Rick asked Shane. ''We were just hanging around, got into an argument and I guess we were a bit loud because all of a sudden a few walkers appeared.'' Shane said as he awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck in shame. Daryl looked at Shane and then back at Riley seeing she had obviously been crying.

Suddenly Daryl was just seeing red in front of his eyes. ''What the fuck did you do?!'' Daryl suddenly roared in anger and punched Shane in his face. ''Wow what the hell!'' Shane yelled as he fell on the ground, holding his now bleeding nose. Riley suddenly snapped out of her shock and quickly ran over to Shane who was sitting on the ground.

''You motherfucker!'' Daryl yelled as he was about to pounce on Shane, but was suddenly held back by T-Dog and Rick. ''Easy Daryl, get back!'' Rick said as he tried to calm the erratic redneck that was trying to free himself. ''Get your hands off of me, I'm going to stomp that bastard into the ground!'' Daryl shouted as he struggled in Rick's and T-Dog's grasps.

''Daryl, stop it! We weren't thinking!'' Riley told the hunter who was still breathing heavenly out of anger. ''You bet your ass you weren't!'' Daryl snapped at her, making her flinch a little at his harsh tone.

''Calm down man.'' T-Dog said. Daryl looked back at Riley who frowned at him, but she then looked back at Shane in order to tilt up his head due to his bleeding nose. ''Ok shit let me go I'm calm, I'm calm!'' Daryl harshly said after a few minutes. Rick and T-Dog slowly released him from their grasps.

''Don't you ever pull that stunt again, Shane.'' Rick said as he pulled Shane from the ground. ''Get your nose checked by Hershel.'' He told the ex-cop who was holding his bleeding nose while he angrily glared at Daryl but walked away. T-Dog shook his head and looked at Rick who gave him a quick nod. T-Dog knew what the man was implying and followed Shane in case he decided to retaliate against Daryl. Rick frowned as he watched his friend walk away, he knew something was eating at him.

''What the hell were you thinking!'' Rick heard Daryl snap at Riley who looked at him wide-eyed. ''I'm sorry, I just.. we..'' Riley stuttered. No one had ever snapped at her like that and she had no idea how to react. She knew she shouldn't have done it, but she was so bored out of her mind at camp. She hadn't left this place the entire time she had been here.

''You gotta fuckin' think Riley!'' Daryl now yelled at her, making her take a step back as he came closer. She had never seen Daryl angry before and it felt like a bulldozer was running her over. Guess this was what Glenn was always fearing and now it was directed at her.

''How could you be so stupid to just run a long in the fuckin' woods! This ain't some fuckin' amusement park!'' Daryl glared at her. Riley suddenly felt the urge to cry when he said that. He just called her stupid right in her face.

''Easy Daryl.'' Rick said to intervene as he noticed that things were getting out of control. Daryl was just yelling louder and louder while Riley was nearly on the verge of tears.

''Riley, are you ok?'' Rick asked as made his way over to the pair. ''Yes.. I'm fine.. '' Riley slowly replied, looking away from Daryl to Rick.

Rick looked back at Daryl who suddenly looked away, crossing his arms, his jaw tense. Rick knew Daryl seemed to care for Riley, as Lori had told him her concerns involving the pair. The way Daryl blew up just now, certainly was evidence of that. However, he wasn't so good at keeping his emotions in check, which was pretty obvious.

''Ok, you go to Maggie and get yourself cleaned up.'' Rick told her. Riley looked from Rick to Daryl, who was deliberately not looking at her. She bit her lip to hold back a sob and quickly walked away to the house with her head bowed. _Don't cry, don't let them see you cry. Stop it! You're not a child! _She yelled at herself to will away the tears that were threatening to fall. She could feel eyes on her when she was nearly running towards the house.

She quickly wiped her sleeve over her eyes to brush away the tears that were now falling. She had never faced such a big confrontation before.

Daryl sighed and brushed his hand through his hair as he watched Riley walk away. ''Daryl.'' Rick suddenly said and the redneck turned to face the man. ''Next time an incident happens, let me handle it ok.'' Rick said and frowned. ''Whatever man.'' Daryl said, shaking his head.

''Look, I know you care about her, but blowing up in her face like that wa-..'' Rick started but Daryl cut him off. ''You best mind your own fuckin' business!'' Daryl spat out and stormed off into the direction of the woods. Rick frowned as he saw Daryl's retreating form and made his way back to camp.

Meanwhile Riley had reached the house and quickly opened the front door. Maggie and Beth were standing in the hallway where Maggie was just giving Beth a few bandages for Shane's nose. She widened her eyes as she saw Riley storming into the house. The moment Riley saw Maggie she burst out in tears. Maggie gave Beth the bandages and a quick nod. Her sister understood and silently left the hallway. Maggie went over to hug her friend.

''I'm so stupid.'' Riley sobbed as Maggie hugged her tight. ''C'mon it can't be that bad.'' Maggie soothed. ''Yes it was! He was just yelling right in my face, calling me stupid!'' Riley said, making Maggie frown in confusion. All she heard was that Daryl had punched Shane a broken nose since the latter came in with a scowl on his face as he held onto his bleeding nose. ''Come, let's get you cleaned up and then you can tell me what happened.'' Maggie said as she pulled back and took Riley's hand to lead her to the bathroom to clean her from all the blood.

* * *

That evening at dinner it had been rather awkward for Riley. Everyone had witnessed what happened that afternoon. Riley silently ate from her plate of beans as she stared at the fire in front of her. Shane was on watch duty in order to cool down so he luckily wasn't at dinner. Daryl, however, was nowhere to be seen. Rick had told the group he had disappeared into the woods.

Riley sighed as she took another bite from her dinner. She couldn't help but feel worried about Daryl because he had been so angry when they came back from the woods. She hoped nothing happened to him while he was out there all alone.

That night when she had gone to bed she woke up a few hours later from a nightmare. Flashes of cruel men invaded her mind, the screaming of teenage girls and walkers with half of their faces ripped off. She had been having nightmares occasionally but nothing so vivid as this one.

As she was lying there, she began to get scared. Anyone could just walk into her tent without her knowing. The images of the walkers she had seen today scared her so much. She knew they were all around her but it was just so hard to comprehend fact that they would never go away again. She sighed as she turned around trying to fall back asleep. She was being irrational, they had people on watch here 24/7.

Shane's hand on her bare skin entered her mind and she shuttered. _Stop being such a baby, nothing happened! _She angrily thought to herself. She knew Shane wouldn't do such a thing, but the fact that he somewhat had that interest in her made her feel uncomfortable since she didn't want it.

She sighed as she rolled on her back again. Walkers, cruel people.. god this whole world was fucked up. Nowhere was safe.

And then there was Daryl, who she finally had been able to make contact with and he just blew up in her face a few hours ago. He had called her stupid and he was right. It was stupid what she did, she shouldn't have done it in the first place.

She sighed and turned on her side again. She didn't want him to be mad at her. They had finally been making progress and now it seemed like everything was going to evaporate if she wouldn't do anything about it. She felt this sudden dread in her stomach that he might ignore her now. Everyone had witnessed the scene and the way he blew up clearly showed that he had been worried about her.

She frowned and quickly got up as a thought entered her mind. She quietly zipped open her tent and looked outside. It was dead quiet, the only light was coming from on top of the caravan where T-Dog was keeping watch. The minute she saw that he had his back turned from camp she rushed over to the tent beside her, quickly unzipping it and jumped in.

She quietly zipped the tent shut again and turned around. It was pretty dark in the tent, and she could barely make out Daryl's figure, sleeping on his stomach, not even noticing she had entered his tent. She breathed sigh of relief to actually see him in his tent because she had been afraid he wouldn't come back from his disappearance in the woods that afternoon. She heard him breathing and the panic she was feeling was draining away a little.

She bit her lip and quietly got down on her knees, crawling her way over to him.

''Daryl?'' She whispered quietly as she was now near his face. He mumbled something, but didn't wake up. ''Daryl?'' She said again, and this time she saw him slowly opening his eyes, blinking a few times. ''Hmph.. wha?'' He replied, his voice thick from his sleep.

Unknowingly, she had just woken him from a dream. He looked up and saw Riley looking at him, making him very confused. They were just standing in the woods while she was fiddling with the top buttons of his shirt as she was smiling up at him, whispering something he couldn't understand, and now she was here in his tent? How did they got over here so fast?

She saw the confused look on his face and he slowly moved on his side, rubbing his eyes with his right hand. The minute he did that, Riley quickly slipped into his sleeping bag beside him and pulled herself closer to his bare chest, wrapping one arm around his waist.

Daryl immediately stiffened at the sudden contact and frowned at the woman now lying beside him. ''What's wrong?'' He whispered in his gruff voice. ''Nothing. I couldn't sleep.'' She merely whispered as she closed her eyes. She was now sort of catching up with what she was doing and was embarrassed that she actually acted on it. She mentally counted down the seconds as she expected him to either demand an answer from her, or promptly kick her out of his tent.

However, to her surprise he pulled the covers over them both, wrapping his arm around her. His was still half dazed in between sleep and consciousness and he was tired as hell since he had just come back from the woods, taking his anger out on passing walkers. So, without thinking, he lie his head back down on his pillow, breathing in her familiar strawberry scent and quickly fell back asleep.

Riley opened her eyes again, listening to his heartbeat near her ear. The manliness was just radiating off of him and she pulled herself even closer to his bare chest. He smelled like wood and grass, and he was so warm. She felt safe here, right in this spot next to him. She closed her eyes and was quickly lulled back to sleep again.

* * *

**_A/N: Thanks for all the reviews and all of you new followers to this story, I really appreciate it! :) - I hope you liked this chapter. I think it was actually the first time that there was a particular 'horror scene' in it and I hope I didn't suck that bad at writing it lol. :p - Sorry for any spelling/grammar mistakes; I love English, but unfortunately it's not my native language.. - Let me know what you think; your reactions/opinions are always welcome! :)_**


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter nine**

That morning Riley slowly awoke from a dreamless sleep. _I haven't slept so good in ages, _she thought as she stretched her legs a little. As she did that she felt something press into her back and an arm wrapped itself around her waist. Suddenly she realized what she had done and her eyes widened. It was Daryl's bare chest pressed against her back as she could feel the heat radiating from his body, enveloping her in his warmth. His arm was now leaning loosely over her waist, his fingers brushing a little against her stomach while she felt him breathing softly near her ear, giving her goosebumps. He was clearly still asleep.

She bit her lip as she felt herself flush thinking what she had done; she'd just crept into his bed without thinking of the consequences. She hoped he wouldn't be pissed off at her. The times she had touched him either by accident or deliberately he had been so tense. The particular moment where she had merely kissed him on his cheek he couldn't seem to get away any faster. He was clearly a man that had some issues with physical contact. However, now that he was asleep, he had no problem with it though. Nevertheless, she had no idea how he would react to what she had done when he would wake up.

She sighed and suddenly felt Daryl stir behind her, making her aware of the fact that he was about to wake up. He pulled back his arm and she bit her lip. She had no idea how to explain what she had done. It seemed she didn't think about it and just went with her gut feeling. She didn't regret it though. However, she did fear his response since he was.. well, Daryl.

She was contemplating if she should just be feigning sleep to give him the opportunity to leave, but if she was being honest with herself, she wanted to confront him about it. She knew he had to at least like her company, since he'd never pushed her away during all those moments they'd spend time together. He even gave her a crossbow for her birthday. The fact that he nearly exploded yesterday when he heard what happened, clearly showed his concerns for her. It had to mean something, right? She needed to get it out somehow, to just show him that she wanted more than whatever they were having right now. However, she had no idea if he was still mad at her or not.

''I'm sorry about yesterday.'' She said in a soft voice after a few minutes of silence. ''I shouldn't have done it in the first place.'' She added while staring in front of her. ''Yeah.'' She heard him say as she felt him sitting up behind her. ''Where did you go?'' She asked. ''The woods; clearing my head, killed some walkers.'' He replied.

She thought about what to do now, he didn't sound very upset. Perhaps he had calmed down and they could talk about it. She slowly rolled on her back seeing that he was staring in front of him. The scars on his back were clearly visible and it still made her wonder how he had gotten them. She shook her head, getting rid of those thoughts and sat up as well, their arms almost touching each other. She noticed that the knuckles of his right hand were a bit red, probably due to the fact that he had punched Shane a broken nose.

''Why'd you come here?'' He suddenly asked as he looked at her. Her action clearly had made no sense to him at all. He honestly thought he had been dreaming when the woman that was constantly on his mind decided to show up in the middle of the night and cling onto him. To say he was surprised when he woke up a few hours later again and saw her lying in his arms was an understatement. He didn't know if he should either run out of the tent or pull her closer. Strangely to him, he chose to do the latter.

''It's stupid.'' She finally answered as she felt herself flush, looking to the side. Now when he asked her so directly, she felt embarrassed about it. She just wanted to be with him at that moment; she felt scared, alone and he was the only one with whom she felt completely safe with. But she knew that deep down, her feelings for him went a lot deeper than that.

Daryl suddenly scoffed as he thought of his own explanation for her actions. Probably got into a fight with Shane and decided to come to him instead. The entire time that he had been killing walkers in the woods, he thought about what she and that cop had been up to. Guess he was just her second choice, a back up for protection, because that was what he was right? Just a form of protection, something to use and if not needed anymore to just throw away. Well, he was having none of that.

Why else would she spend time all that with him? Not like someone like her could actually fall for someone like him. _Why in the fuck is this even bothering the shit out of me?! _He thought to himself in frustration.

''I ain't good enough huh.'' He told her and she instantly looked back at him, noticing his defensive tone. ''What? No, that's not what I meant. I wa-.'' She started but he glared at her. ''Save it for someone who gives a shit!'' He snapped and was about to get up but she grabbed his wrist, stopping him in his movements. ''Will you just let me finish without assuming things?'' She told him as he still glared at her.

''I just.. got scared after what happened yesterday. I couldn't sleep.. I just.. and you were angry.. and it.. '' She started, trying not to tumble over her words but it was so difficult to do by the look he was giving her. It was the exact same look he had given her yesterday.

''So, instead of going to Shane - you come to me, why?'' He interrupted her again. He didn't want to care about what went on between those two, but he needed some sort of confirmation. It confused the hell out of him why he needed it in the first place. He was going crazy with all these questions and doubts in his head and it was pissing him off.

She frowned at him, now thoroughly confused. What did Shane have to do with any of this? ''Because you were mad at me, Daryl.'' Riley said. She sighed when he looked away again. He didn't understand why she'd even give a shit about that. ''I don't want you to be mad at me. I mean, from everyone here, I can't handle that from you.'' She said in honesty and he frowned, thinking about what she was saying, not really understanding what she meant.

''Just 'cause I was the one to safe you, don't mean tha-..'' He started but this time she cut him off. ''Daryl just stop! I care about what you think, ok? I care about you!'' She blurted out. Her eyes widened at what she'd just said and she saw that he was rather in a state of shock at her confession. He had never heard somebody say that to him, perhaps only his brother every once in a while - but Merle always said it as if he didn't mean it. Now with Riley, he had no idea how to reply to that.

She sighed, knowing she couldn't take it back - but she didn't want to either. ''Can't you just believe me?'' She asked as he frowned at her. ''I care about you.'' She said again, deciding she had enough of this distance between them. She needed to take some sort of action to show him what she meant by it. She knew that he wasn't the type of man that would ever initiate the first move. She had to be the one to do it. She hoped that whatever she was feeling for him, he would at least feel an inch of that for her as well.

She reached over to cup his face but he flinched back a little out of habit, frowning as he was looking at her hands, trying to figure out what she was doing. She took a deep breath and leaned forward to take his face in her hands. She could just feel the tension in his jaw but didn't let go and slowly leaned closer to his face. His breath hitched when he realized what she was about to do. Closing her eyes, she gently kissed him on his lips.

Daryl's mind went blank at the feeling of her full lips pressed against his own. At first he was tense, unresponsive, staring at her face that was now so close. Riley however didn't give up, staying with her lips pressed against his, hoping he wouldn't push her away. He slowly closed his eyes, finally kissing back.

She brushed her hands along his biceps, feeling his muscles beneath the palms of her hands, gliding towards his hands to place them around her. She wrapped her arms around his neck to pull him closer. He groaned at the feeling of having her pressed up against him and he slowly brought her down on her back to roll on top of her. He enjoyed the feeling of her lips moving slowly against his.

They kissed each other soundly, and he unconsciously brushed his tongue against her lower lip, slowly demanding access. She opened her mouth a little, gladly letting his tongue roam with hers.

She slowly glided her hands from his neck towards his chest, her fingertips trailing over his skin. His mind suddenly went in overdrive at the feeling of her soft hands on his bare chest and he started to kiss her neck, sucking on her skin. ''Daryl..'' Riley whispered as he licked her skin while she brought her hands into his hair. His heart was pounding in his chest after he heard her whispering his name like that. All these pent-up emotions, all the times he held himself back, all those moments that he wanted to reach out to her.

_Shit she tastes so good, _he thought to himself as he nipped at her shoulder. He moved his hands underneath the back of her shirt, feeling the soft skin beneath his palms. Riley gasped as Daryl's tongue was gliding along her collarbone while the rough skin of his hands was brushing along her back.

Daryl loved her reaction towards him, liking the fact that he was making her feel good. _God I want her_, he thought as he pressed his fingers a little deeper into her skin.

The moment that thought appeared in his head, he instantly pulled back, breathing heavily as he stared wide-eyed at the woman lying underneath him. The look he was giving her looked like a wild animal. ''Shit.'' He said as he pulled away, getting off of her.

He was so used to it being rough and sloppy, a simple matter of quick release and be done with it. But this felt different, which caused him to stop. She was getting to him, and frankly - it scared the shit out of him.

_Take 'em and leave 'em baby brother._ _They ain't worth shit. _Merle's voice rang through his mind. He shook his head, trying to get rid of those thoughts. ''You alright?'' He heard her ask and stiffened as her hand brushed the small of his back. He didn't respond and she quickly sat up. He was still looking in front of him with a wide-eyed expression on his face as he jaw was tense and she frowned in concern. ''What's wro-'' She started but was cut off by a voice from outside the tent. ''Yo, Daryl. You're on watch now.'' T-Dog's voice called out and they heard him walk off.

Daryl sighed and quickly got his sleeveless shirt that was laying at the end of his sleeping bag. His body was still rigid on adrenaline as he tried to button up his shirt. _You big pussy, pushing a way a fine ass like that! You and your sentimental bullshit, you're like a fuckin' girl, be a man and hit that! _Merle would have yelled at him. Daryl took a deep breath, trying to calm down.

His hands suddenly were pulled away from the buttons of his shirt and Riley placed herself on her knees between his legs and slowly buttoned up his shirt. He stared at her face as she worked on the buttons. This woman sure was something else.

''There, all done.'' She said and smiled at him. She could see a storm of emotions raging in his eyes but decided not to ask him about it. He quickly got up from his sleeping bag and walked towards the entrance of the tent, quickly pulling on his jeans over the boxers he was wearing and stepped into his shoes.

He flung his crossbow across his back and was about to walk out of his tent, dismissing her, but something held him back, even though he couldn't comprehend what it exactly was. He sighed and looked behind him again to see Riley still sitting on his sleeping bag with a confused look on her face. ''I'll see ya later.'' He mumbled awkwardly and she nodded. He quickly turned around and unzipped the entrance of his tent before stepping out.

Riley lie back down on Daryl's pillow and breathed in his scent. Her feeling of contentment quickly faded as she thought back on the look on Daryl's face when he had pulled back from their kiss. He went all rigid on her. Something was up and she didn't like it one bit.

After waiting for a few minutes, Riley carefully popped her head out of Daryl's tent to see if anyone was already up. In the distance she saw Dale and Glenn in a deep discussion but further than that she didn't see anyone else.

She stepped back and looked around Daryl's tent. She was only wearing her top and shorts because she had just jumped out of her tent like that yesterday night. She spotted a sleeveless shirt laying near Daryl's pillow and quickly put it on, buttoning up. She hastily got out of Daryl's tent to slip into her own.

However, she didn't get that far as she bumped into someone. She looked up and saw it was Rick who was looking at her, with a raised eyebrow. ''Uh, hi.'' She said and timidly smiled up at him. It felt like she was being caught doing something naughty by her father.

''What were you doing?'' He asked her while he had seen her stepping straight out of Daryl's tent. He eyed her and noticed that the flannel shirt she was wearing definitely wasn't hers. ''Uh.. just uhm.'' Riley started while trying to come up with some good excuse. Rick shook his head at her. ''Just be careful, Riley.'' He told her and walked off.

He hoped she hadn't done anything stupid, as in spending the night with Daryl. He didn't seem the type of man to be interested in a relationship even though he did appear to care about the woman. Riley, on the other hand, was clearly interested in more and Rick feared that she would eventually pay the price.

Riley frowned as she saw Rick walk away. _What was that about? _She thought as she quickly got back into her own tent.

* * *

That morning at breakfast, everything felt a bit awkward for Riley. She felt like everyone kept staring at her for some reason. She knew it was about her and Shane coming back from the woods yesterday. The fact that it led to a fight between Shane and Daryl probably spoke volumes.

''You sure you're alright?'' Lori asked Riley in concern for the fifth time while there were eating some sandwiches. ''Yes, I am Lori, really. Thanks though.'' Riley told the older woman who frowned but nodded. Rick had told her what he saw this morning and she wasn't too happy about it. She didn't know if it was that good for Riley to be involved with Daryl. The man seemed to be aggressive if he was triggered in some way, which became very clear after he had broken Shane's nose yesterday. It looked like Daryl was about to explode in rage. She had also seen the look on Riley's face yesterday, nearly on the verge of tears.

She didn't know the full extent of what happened during Riley's walk with Shane yesterday but when she asked Shane about it he told her it was nothing. She told him that Riley was too young for him anyways, had said it was stupid that he even considered going after her. Shane just snapped in her face saying she was jealous. Lori frowned when she considered what he'd said but quickly pushed away that thought.

Riley didn't look at Shane when he walked into the circle of chairs while everyone was having their meal. She was thankful that Daryl was on watch because she didn't want the two men to possibly be at each other's throat again. She sort of feared that Shane would mention her feelings for Daryl towards the others since she had been angry at him when he called Daryl a dumb redneck. And also the way Daryl reacted when they came back would only fuel his suspicions. She knew that Daryl would bolt the minute everyone would be on his case about it.

After breakfast, everyone went into daily routine as Riley collected everyone's plates.

She walked over to Carol who was fixing up a plate with some scrambled eggs and chicken. ''Riley? Could you take this plate up to Daryl? The man hasn't had his breakfast yet.'' The older woman said to her.

''Uh, I think it's better if you do it Carol.'' Riley said as she placed all the plates she had in her hands into a bucket of water and soap. Carol frowned. ''Riley, I don't think he's still mad at you, he was just worried.''

''I know. It's just that.. well..'' Riley started, contemplating if she should tell the woman what happened this morning, but quickly decided against it. This was something between her and Daryl. There was already so much gossip going around camp. She was sure that people were already talking about the incident behind her back, even though they tried to be discreet about it. She had seen Lori and Andrea talking while giving her a few glances. Even Dale had been giving her a look of concern.

She had only been giving Maggie bits and pieces of her feelings for Daryl, even though she sensed that Maggie knew something more was up. However, she trusted Maggie that she wouldn't tell anyone.

''I think it's better if I just give him some space.'' She eventually told Carol who nodded and thankfully didn't press the subject.

_I probably shook him up by kissing him like that, _Riley thought to herself as she was washing the dishes. She didn't want it to become all awkward between them. She hoped he wouldn't pull away from her now. She could still feel his arms around her, and his lips on her skin. She only wanted more of those moments. The thought made her blush and she quickly looked down, seeing she had been washing the same plate for at least several minutes now.

After she was done with washing the dishes, she decided to take a break from the group and went to her usual spot in the grass near the tents. She fought the urge to look into Daryl's direction, who was sitting further away on the caravan.

She had brought one of Dale's books she borrowed at began to read while lying her stomach. After reading a few pages, a shadow suddenly appeared above her. As she looked up, she noticed it was Shane, now with a white bandage covering his nose.

''Can we talk for a sec?'' He asked her. She frowned but nodded. He sat cross-legged beside her and stared in front of him towards the woods. ''I guess I owe you an apology.'' Shane started while not looking at Riley. ''I was out of line and what happened afterwards was also my fault. I put us both in danger.'' He added. ''We could have been killed Shane.'' Riley said as she looked at him. ''I know.'' He said, looking at the ground.

''But I guess.. I mean, I forgive you. It wasn't entirely your fault. I shouldn't have just gone off with you without warning the others where we were, it was stupid.'' She said. ''Yeah.. well I got a heck of a wakeup call yesterday.'' He said pointing at his nose.

Riley shook her head as she heard him chuckle. ''Damn, that redneck has a hard fist.'' He added and Riley let out a soft chuckle. ''Don't call him that, it's not nice.'' She told him and he frowned. ''I do wonder what you see in him though.'' He suddenly asked her and she blushed. ''I just like him, Shane. We're friends.'' She said, being vague about it. It wasn't his place to know the full extent of her feelings.

He sighed but nodded. ''Alright, well.. I just hope everything will be ok between us again. I mean even.. well you know.. I still hope we can stay friends?'' He asked her. She smiled and nodded. ''I'd like that.''

Unbeknownst to the two of them, a pair of eyes were watching them in the distance. Daryl had been keeping an eye on Riley from the moment she'd sat down in the grass near the tents. He had noticed she wasn't looking into his direction, which made him feel agitated for some reason. She would always give him a wave and a smile from a distance when he was on watch - even though he barely nodded back in return.

His eyes narrowed when he had seen Shane approach her but he stayed put. He was still on watch duty and knew that the fight he had with Shane yesterday hadn't gone unnoticed by the group, especially Rick who had been eyeing him from time to time.

He still didn't know what happened between Shane and Riley. Even though he normally stayed out of people's business since he could care less, as it involved Riley now it was nagging him in the back of his mind. Was there something going on between those two? His jaw tensed as he thought about it. What if she was doing the same with Shane what she had just done with him this morning?

And what the hell was that even this morning? First minute she said she cared about him and the next moment they were lip locking like their lives depended on it. The only thing that had been on his mind was to make her want him just as much as he wanted her. He never cared about that sort of thing before, he had never wanted a woman like he wanted her. _Fuck me, this is seriously givin' me a fuckin' brain damage, _Daryl thought as he sighed deeply.

''Hey, brought you breakfast.'' Carol's voice suddenly snapped him away from his thoughts. ''Thanks.'' He muttered as he leaned down a bit to take the plate from her hand as he was sitting on top of the caravan. ''You alright?'' She asked him and he looked down at his plate. ''I'm fine.'' He curtly replied and the older woman sighed but nodded her head, walking off again. She knew getting Daryl to talk about what was bugging him was a mission impossible.

* * *

After Shane had left Riley alone again, she was sucked right back into the book she was reading. She didn't notice that she had been lying there for at least two hours until Carl ran up to her to ask her if she wanted play some chess with him.

''So, I heard that Daryl gave you a crossbow?'' Carl said to her and she smiled as she nodded while they were laying all the pieces of the game in the right order. ''He must really like you.'' He added and she noticed the sudden frown that appeared on his face as a thought suddenly hit him.

''What's with the face?'' Riley asked and he looked up at her. ''I just hope he doesn't hurt you.'' Carl mumbled and looked back at the chessboard again. ''He doesn't hurt me. He can be nice Carl, once you get to know him.'' Riley said in Daryl's defense. She knew that the others were still a bit wary around the hunter, especially Lori, and it was brushing off on Carl as well. ''Merle was scary. I don't really know what to think about Daryl though.'' Carl said.

''Well, he did teach you some skinning right?'' She reminded him and he looked at her before nodding. ''But he was yelling at you yesterday and my mom told my dad you were really upset when you went to the house. And Beth had even seen you crying.'' Carl said and Riley inwardly sighed. The news sure spread fast around here. Even though she really liked this group, it was unbelievable how much nearly everyone seemed to be sticking each other's noses into other people's business.

''Carl, he was just worried about me. I did something stupid and he was just upset. Everything is ok between us again.'' She said. _At least I hope_, she added in her mind.

''He didn't hit your or anything, right? Or else I will have to tell my dad.'' Carl said and her eyes widened. ''What? No! Of course not! Daryl wouldn't do such a thing!'' Riley said in surprise by his comment. ''He's alright Carl, don't you worry.'' Riley said and winked at him, making him smile. Perhaps what Glenn said was true, and the kid was starting to become really attached to her.

After about an hour of playing chess Riley laughed. ''Wow Carl, you are really good at this!'' She exclaimed as he had beaten her again. ''I learned it from my dad.'' Carl proudly said.

''Carl, time for homework.'' Lori suddenly called out from a distance and Riley heard Carl sigh. ''Urgh, I don't know what the big deal is with homework. Schools don't even exist anymore.'' Carl grumbled as he got up and angrily walked away.

Riley frowned as she saw the boy storm off, not knowing what to think. It seemed the world had come to an end. She sighed as she picked up all the pieces of the game and placed them back in a box. Thoughts like that would make the situation even more worse than it already was.

* * *

**_A/N: First of all, a Happy New Year to you all! Secondly, thanks so much for the reviews, _****_I'm really happy that you liked the previous chapter. :) Also, a huge thank you to _****_all the new followers out there as well as the people that have been favoring my story. I hope you liked this chapter, since I have been re-reading and re-writing it a lot! :p As you might have noticed, the relationship between Daryl & Riley is probably going to change from now on - for the better or worse, who knows. ;) Anyways, please leave a review - I would really like to know what you think. :)_**


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter ten**

That afternoon Daryl was sitting in his tent, cleaning one of his arrows after he had gone hunting for a few hours, trying to get his mind off of things. However, Riley had constantly been invading his mind. _She_ _fuckin' makes me want her, what the hell?! _He thought to himself as his grip on the arrow in his hand tightened.

She was slowly closing in, developing some sort of hold on him and he didn't like it. He didn't know if he could let her in, he had never done that with anyone. He was used to keeping people at arm's length.

The fact that they had been making out in his tent just this morning was not helping at all. Now that he had felt the softness of her skin, the curves of her body, and those full lips, he didn't know if he was able to stay away from her. What was also still nagging him in the back of his mind was what exactly had being going on between her and Shane. He didn't know how to bring it up without actually letting her know that it bothered him. Heck, he could barely admit it to himself in the first place. She was already starting to change him, and he didn't know if he liked it or not.

After thinking about it for another half hour, he made up his mind and placed away the arrow he had in his hand before getting up and stepping out of his tent. He scanned around the area, seeing Riley in the distance picking apples from the ground while Maggie was dropping them from the tree she was sitting in. He sighed but went over to the two women.

''Ah you almost hit me in the head Maggie!'' Riley called out as an apple fell on the ground, only a few inches away from where she was standing. She looked up and saw Maggie was covering her mouth, trying not to laugh. ''Did not!'' Maggie childishly called out while she grinned. Though Maggie normally stayed with her family, she had found a great friend in Riley, liking to spend time with her even though her father was sometimes being a bit difficult when it came to the group that was staying on their property.

Riley narrowed her eyes and picked up an apple, holding it as if she was going to swing it at her friend. ''No way don't you dare Riley!'' Maggie said in warning. Riley chuckled and shook her head. She went over to the basket that was already half filled with apples and placed in the apple she was holding in her hand.

''Don't look behind you, but a certain someone is coming over here.'' Maggie suddenly said in a hushed voice, making Riley frown at her friend in confusion. ''It's.. you know.'' Maggie said suggestively, making Riley bit her lip while staring at her boots. It surprised her that he was actually reaching out to her now - though she had no idea what the result of that might be. She had purposely been avoiding him the entire day since she didn't want to rub him the wrong way.

''Can we talk for a sec?'' She suddenly heard Daryl say behind her and she quickly turned around. ''Uh, sure.'' She said and looked up at Maggie, seeing her eying the two of them. ''I'll be back right back ok?'' She told Maggie, who nodded. The pair of them walked away and Maggie frowned. After Riley had told her that Daryl freaked out on her, Maggie didn't really know what to think of the redneck anymore. His mood swings surely had to be a handful for Riley. Her friend really had picked herself one complicated guy.

As Riley was walking beside Daryl, she eyed the man a few times in order to have an idea what his current mood was. He was looking straight ahead, not making any eye contact with her. She frowned but looked away from him again. He could jump from agitated, to friendly, to angry in no time. She bit her lip as she thought that he probably wanted to talk about what happened in his tent this morning.

''What's up?'' Riley asked as she had followed Daryl into the stables, out of sight from the others. ''What happened out there with you and Shane yesterday?'' He suddenly blurted out. _Ok, no more beating around the bush Dixon, that's for sure, _he thought to himself while he inwardly rolled his eyes. ''What? Uh nothing?'' She told him. She was caught completely off guard by his question. She had no idea that he actually wanted to know. ''You sure? He said the two of you had an argument.'' He said.

Riley looked away from his eyes that were looking directly into hers, feeling uncomfortable to talk to him about it since it might eventually lead to him playing the lead role in the matter.

''He just uh.. well he wanted to be more than friends and I told him no.'' She quickly said. Daryl's jaw tensed at her response. He knew Shane had an interest in Riley and the fact that he had now acted on it made him flare up in anger. He looked at her face, sensing she wasn't telling him everything.

''That was the argument?'' He pressed on. She looked at him again, blushing a little. ''Well, he just assumed that I liked someone else. Then he ran down all the names and I got pissed at him for calling you a redneck. So, he just.. you know.'' She mumbled while lowering her eyes to the ground. She felt awkward to talk to Daryl about it, because in a way, she had made it obvious towards Shane that she liked Daryl.

She heard him sigh and looked up seeing him pinching the bridge of his nose in frustration. He didn't know if he actually wanted others to find out he had a soft spot for the brunette. Heck, he didn't even know if he wanted her to know it either. This was what he had always been avoiding, letting people come close.

''Are you mad at me?'' She asked as he looked into her big brown eyes. He didn't know how the handle all the emotions he swore his saw swirling in her eyes. ''No.'' He eventually said.

She frowned. _Guess I have to make the first move on this one, don't I? _She thought to herself. ''Is it about this morning?'' She suddenly asked him and he looked away, frowning.

It made her go crazy that he never really voiced his thoughts to her. The fact that he just asked her about Shane was a surprise as well, she didn't know that he was thinking about it. Was he upset? Was he angry? Was he.. jealous?

''This morning, it can't happen again.'' He suddenly said as he crossed his arms. ''What?'' She replied, surprised by what he said. ''I said, it can't happen again.'' He repeated. ''And what made you decide on that?'' She asked not believing one word of it. He just asked her about Shane, he gave her hell when she went out alone, he let her sleep in his tent with him, he had even kissed her back, and now he was backing out?

His jaw tensed as he felt uncomfortable about the entire situation and stared off into the distance. ''This shit ain't gonna be workin' out - so it ain't worth starting in the first place.'' He told her.

''This shit?'' She said as she raised her eyebrow, actually offended about how he had called it. ''You're kidding right?'' She added and he could clearly hear the sarcasm in her voice, making him look back at her.

''What'chu want me to do, spell it out for ya?'' He glared at her but it didn't faze her one bit as she stepped right up to him. Normally she would leave him be when he would get agitated with her, but not this time. This time she was not backing down. ''I want you to be honest with me.'' She said as she poked her finger against his chest, making him tense up a little.

''I ain't no fuckin' liar!'' He spat out but she narrowed her eyes. ''Yes you are! You wanted it just as much as me! And then you got scared and yo-..'' she started but he cut her off. ''Fuck that, I ain't scared of shit!'' He sneered. ''You are scared as hell that I might get too close!'' She said and he scoffed, looking away again.

She knew she had him there. The reason why he was acting out like this was because she was getting too close for comfort. But she knew that she needed to get through to him if she wanted this between them to work out.

''You might not let people in, but I sure as hell am not backing down.'' She firmly told him. ''Woman, what the fuck do you want from me?'' He said in frustration. ''You! I just want you!'' She nearly shouted in his face, causing him to flush as she had been so direct about it. Deep down it made him feel something foreign and he certainly did not like things that he didn't understand.

''I ain't no fuckin' nice guy, I ain't like Shane or Rick. I ain't gonna change to be-...'' He started but stopped as he saw her roll her eyes at him. ''Woman, don't you be rolling your eyes at me!'' He said and she blankly stared at him.

''I don't give a damn about the fact that you're not like Shane or Rick. And I never said that I wanted you to change, did I? Here you go again assuming things so you have a reason to back out.'' She said and his jaw tensed since she had caught on to what he was doing.

''Didn't I just tell you that I'm not even interested in Shane? He clearly got the message, why can't you!?'' She said and he scoffed, looking away again. ''Can't you just try and give me a chance? Can you trust me enough to give me that?'' She asked, making him sigh. Trusting people was something he did not do very easily.

He looked back at her but she couldn't read the expression on his face. Riley was seriously holding back to push herself against him, getting some sense into him that she just wanted to be with him - he didn't need to change one thing about himself. _Why does he have to be so goddamn stubborn! _She thought to herself.

She just needed some sort of sign from him that he wanted her too. Some sort of indication that she had a chance on breaking through the walls he'd set up, even if it was just a small crack - she would take it.

She suddenly saw his eyes unconsciously flicker briefly towards her lips and back to her eyes. She let out a breath and decided to just take the plunge and instantly closed the gap between them.

Daryl was taken aback by the sudden movement of her lips pressing against his, actually having to take a step back in surprise due to the force she used. His instincts were telling him to not let her get that close again, to not let them do this again before he got into deep and couldn't push her away anymore. He didn't want to need her, he didn't want to have her constantly on his mind. He should be on his own with no one to care for but himself. But the way her lips felt so damn good against his own made him let go of his restraints and kiss her back.

Riley gasped as his tongue quickly demanded access and she instantly pulled herself flush against him, wanting to feel him closer. Her arms went around his neck as he pushed her up against the wooden wall of the stables.

They both were breathing loudly, Daryl nipping the soft skin of her neck as Riley brushed her hands through his hair. After a moment, she pulled him back into a kiss, letting their tongues twirl around each other. His hands that were keeping her in place by her waist, slowly slid themselves lower to cup her ass, squeezing gently, making her gasp against his lips. He easily lifted her off the ground and she wrapped her legs around his waist, pressing him deeper into her body.

She quickly became to realize that Daryl had an animalistic side in him that was triggered by their make out sessions, clearly making him let go of all his restraints. He lightly pulled at her lower lip with his teeth, receiving a soft moan from Riley.

As Daryl was about to trail his hand underneath the back of her shirt to feel the soft skin there, they suddenly heard a few voices close by and their heads instantly pulled back from each other. ''Fuck.'' He cursed as it felt like a bucket of water had just fallen on his head.

He moved his hands to her waist to keep her steady as she unwrapped her legs from his waist. The moment her feet touched the ground, he was about to pull away from her but Riley instantly grabbed onto his shirt with both hands, making him stop in his movements. ''I won't back down on this.'' She firmly told him. She knew she had to fight for it, but she knew it would be worth it.

He looked into her eyes, thinking about what she said. He realized he had possibly met his match in stubbornness. He had already been noticing it during those moments they'd spend time together that she had a habit of not doing what he said when she somehow could sense he didn't mean it. It was still a question to him as to how she was actually able to do that.

''Fine.'' He finally gave in, receiving a small smile of accomplishment from her. ''Better not let it be gettin' to your head, woman.'' He said as he narrowed his eyes at her while he placed his hands against the wall behind her, conveniently trapping her between him and the wall. She moved her hands from his shirt to his neck, clearly unfazed by his movement as she made circles on his skin with her index fingers. The feeling of her hands on his skin made him want to touch her again but he did his best to refrain himself from doing that, keeping his palms flat on the wall behind her.

''It won't,'' she replied, ''now, I better get back to Maggie. She's probably wondering what we're doing.'' She added with an innocent smile on her face and he flushed bright red her as he realized what she had implied. ''What the fuck are you telling her?'' He asked and she chuckled. ''Nothing, don't worry.'' She said as she held up her hands in surrender. _Really, this man is seriously so uptight, _she thought to herself as he was glaring at her. Before he realized it, she gave him a quick kiss on his lips. ''Bye now.'' She said with a smile and ducked underneath his arms, walking off. He glared at her retrieving form, brushing his hand through his hair. _What the fuck just happened?_

* * *

That night when dinner was served, everyone got themselves into their own conversations. Shane and Daryl hadn't talked anymore since the fight but both were keen on not being the first one to apologize.

Riley had been feeling Shane's stare throughout dinner and it had made her feel uncomfortable. It seemed as if he was trying to figure out what exactly was going on between her and Daryl.

Daryl hadn't made it obvious but he was also aware of the occasional glances Shane had given him and the woman sitting next to him. Daryl's anger was flaring up again. He momentary looked at the woman sitting beside him, seeing she was uncomfortably staring at her plate.

He looked up again, seeing that Shane was still looking at her, and his jaw tensed. The man was making Riley feel fucking uncomfortable. Shane suddenly looked straight at him and Daryl narrowed his eyes at him. Shane gave him a surprised look when he realized he had been caught and looked back at his plate. _Yeah you better look away asshole, _Daryl thought.

''Daryl? You want some more eggs?'' Riley's voice suddenly cut through his train of thoughts. He looked down at his plate, seeing that he had already eaten up his entire meal while not even being aware of it. He nodded, giving Riley his plate and watched her walk off to Carol.

After dinner Dale was on watch with Andrea while Riley helped Lori and Carol with the dishes. Daryl was in his tent while Glenn had snuck off again in search for Maggie.

''Shane, I need to talk to you for a sec.'' Rick said to his friend as Shane was sitting in a lawn chair. ''Sure man, what's up?'' Shane asked as Rick pulled up a chair. ''What is your deal with Riley?'' Rick asked him straight up front. He had noticed his friend had taken a liking the in young woman. ''Huh, what? Nothing.'' Shane quickly replied, acting surprised.

''Don't lie to me Shane, I know you. You've been staring at her throughout dinner and that whole walk through the woods yesterday is not something you do with everyone.'' Rick said. Shane rubbed the back of his neck. ''Ok.. shit. I like her.. I mean I know she's young and all but.. I just decided to act upon it and was turned down.'' Shane told his friend who frowned.

''She's into the redneck.'' Shane grumbled and looked away. When Shane looked back at Rick when the latter didn't answer, he saw on the man's face that he knew more that he was letting on. ''You knew?'' Shane said accusingly and Rick lowered his eyes.

''I had my suspicions.'' Rick replied. ''Fuck man.'' Shane said in frustration. ''But you stay out of his way, Shane. You were already pissing him off during dinner. I don't want there to be any trouble starting in this group. We need him and you know it.'' Rick said and Shane scoffed. ''Just let her go.'' Rick added as he stood up and walked away. Shane frowned and lowered his head in defeat. Who ever thought a redneck could earn a second glance from a woman like her.

As Rick walked away from Shane, Lori quickly walked over to him to ask him what was up. ''Isn't she a bit young for either of them?'' Lori asked her husband when he had told her what was going on as they walked over to their tent. ''It's her life Lori.'' Rick said. ''But still Rick.. Daryl? That man is a loose cannon.'' She said. ''We'll just see how it goes.'' Rick said as they entered their tent.

* * *

When it was close to midnight, Dale and Andrea had switched places with Daryl on the caravan since he had volunteered. Before Riley stepped into her tent, she gave him her useful smile and wave. He noticed she mouthed something to him but he couldn't figure out what it was. She pointed her thumb to the side but he still wasn't understanding her. As he frowned at her in confusion, she shook her head, smiling again and walked into her tent. _Fuck, she always gets me curious, _he thought to himself.

After a few minutes, Daryl saw all of the tents' lights go out one by one. The last one that was turned off was Riley's.

He sighed as he looked up into the skies, seeing the stars shine brightly. It was a good opportunity to clear his head. His life used to be so simple with his brother, especially with the dead coming back to life. Just shoot and kill, hunt and survive.

Now everything was different. His brother was missing, Carol's daughter was still nowhere to be found and Riley showing up when she did. He had no idea how to deal with her. Just women in general were clearly not one of his expertise. She was breaking down the walls he had been building around him for so many years. And she had made it pretty clear she was not going to back down. _Stubborn woman, _he thought as he shook his head.

After three hours, Daryl switched with T-Dog. He was dead tired by all the thoughts that were spinning around in his mind. He quietly walked back over to his tent, quickly getting in and zipping close the entrance of his tent. He took off his clothes, leaving him in his boxers, and threw them on a pile to the side.

As he turned around he froze by what he saw in front of him. There was Riley fast asleep on the ground. _Wait, did I get into the wrong tent or something? _He thought as he quickly looked around and reassured himself that it was indeed his tent. He quietly walked over to the woman lying in his sleeping bag and crouched down.

''Riley.. hey woman.'' He whispered while he gently nudged her shoulder. ''Hmm?'' She mumbled still very much asleep. ''What are ya doin' in my tent?'' He whispered. ''Sleeping, like I told you.'' She tiredly replied and reached behind her, pulling at his hand. ''Come.. sleep.''

_Told me? What the hell is she talking about? _He thought to himself in confusion. He frowned as he looked at the entrance of his tent, wondering if anyone had seen her coming in. Heck, he had just been on watch and he hadn't even seen her coming in. He looked back at the woman lying comfortably in his sleeping bag, seeing her hand on his wrist. He contemplated on what to do. He shouldn't do this, it would be letting her in.

But deep inside of him, he wanted this. He wanted to be needed by someone, he wanted someone to care. Nobody ever given an shit about him and he always believed he was fine with it. He didn't need anyone.

But here she was, the woman that kept pushing against his boundaries. She actually told him right in his face that she wouldn't be backing down. He had never experienced that sort of thing before in his whole life. Nobody ever tried, but here she was, doing just that.

He sighed but eventually gave into her pulling and slipped into the sleeping bag with her. Riley pressed her back into his chest as she pulled his arm around her waist, purposely placing them in a spooning position. It felt strange to him, since he had never done this before. The last time she had been in his bed, he was so tired he would probably not even hear a freakin' herd enter camp. When he woke up and noticed their position, he had quickly pulled away his arm. But now, he was clearly aware of their position. Though it felt foreign, it was far from being uncomfortable.

After a few minutes Riley had already fallen back to sleep again. Daryl propped himself on his elbow and stared at the woman lying beside him. He slowly brushed away a stray of her hair that was in her face and looked at her. He didn't understand what she saw in him. She could have chosen Shane, who, even though he was a jackass and god knows what he had done when they first got here, would probably be a better man for her than he could ever be. Why did she want him? He frowned at the thought, while staring off to the side. This shit and self-doubt was messing up his mind. He didn't deserve a woman like her.

_Women are only good for fuckin' man. No need to be walkin' around catering to their asses. _Merle's harsh voice entered his mind. He had always thought like that, get in, and get out. But if he was honest to himself, he had never felt like doing that with her.

He sighed, lying back down again. Riley mumbled something and turned around, pressing herself into his side. He looked at her again while frowning as he felt her hand brush over his bare chest, making him tense a little before relaxing again. For some reason, she was completely comfortable in his presence and unconsciously seeking him out in her sleep. He breathed in the scent of her hair and quickly fell asleep.

* * *

That morning, Riley woke up in Daryl's tent alone. She frowned as she looked around and saw that his crossbow was gone. She quickly got up and pulled on the pair of jeans she had thrown on the floor at the end of his sleeping bag yesterday and stepped into her boots. She carefully looked around when she was about to step out of Daryl's tent and saw Andrea, T-Dog and Shane discussing something near the cars. She frowned as she saw Jimmy with them as well.

She looked at the caravan, seeing Rick talking with Dale. She got out of the tent and quietly walked over to Rick. ''Good morning.'' He said as he saw her nearing him. ''Morning. Did you see where Daryl went off to?'' She quickly asked him, not beating around the bush. Rick frowned. ''We were just discussing tactics for our search. He said he would go looking for Sophia on a horse.'' He told her and she frowned.

''Ok, thanks.'' She said and started to walk into the direction of the stables. Rick and Dale watched her go and they looked at each other. ''Is she going with him?'' Dale asked. ''No, I don't think he would let her do that.'' Rick said as he watched Riley walking closer to the horse stables. He knew there was something going on between Riley and Daryl but decided to not say anything. He already had his own problems with Lori to deal with.

Daryl was fastening the saddle on a horse he had found suitable for his search, his mind occupied so he hadn't heard the soft footsteps coming towards him. ''Hey.'' He suddenly heard a familiar voice say behind him. He quickly turned around and saw the woman that had been invading his thoughts so heavily that he wasn't even aware of his surroundings.

''Rick told me you're going to look for Sophia on a horse?'' She asked and he nodded. ''Are you sure it's alright to go alone?'' She asked, concern edging her voice. ''I'll be fine.'' He gruffly answered, turning his back at her again while adjusting the saddle of the horse standing in front of him.

Riley stared at his back as he was tightening the belts around the horse. She knew better then to openly express her concerns towards him. He wouldn't be the type of man that would like to hear that. He could take care of himself.

''Ok, well.. be careful.'' She said and he just grunted in reply. She frowned as she stood there awkwardly behind him, having no idea what to say to him. She was a bit put out by the fact that if she hadn't woken up by the time she did, he might have already left. But she guessed that he probably didn't realize that she might be worried about him. She wondered if he even noticed such things in the first place. He wasn't really a man who would openly confess his affections to her and she tried to lay low on those things as well for him.

Daryl suddenly sighed and turned around. ''While I'm gone.. just.. be careful around Shane. You don't know half of his story.'' Daryl said making Riley frown.

''What do you mean?'' She asked and he sighed, contemplating if he should express the concerns he'd been having from day one on this camp. ''Daryl?'' She cut off his thoughts. ''Look, in the beginning when we got here, Carl accidently got shot by that blonde woman's husband that lives at the farm.'' He told her and her eyes widened.

''What Carl got shot?! And Patricia had a hus-..'' She started but he cut her off. ''Just listen woman.'' He grumbled and she nodded. ''Anyways, half of the group was still on the highway where Sophia disappeared. Otis, he went with Shane on this run to get meds and shit for Carl, but Shane was the only one that got back.'' He said.

''So, what are you saying?'' She asked. ''I ain't sayin' anything, just that you gotta be careful around him. Ever since he got back from that trip he's been different. The funeral had been fuckin' awkward, his speech makin' no sense at all.'' He told her.

Riley bit her lip, not really knowing what to think of that story. ''Do you think, that he might have left that guy there or something?'' She asked and Daryl shrugged. ''That's insane, Daryl.'' She added. ''I know, but still.. keep it in mind.'' He told her and she nodded.

They stared at each other, both not really knowing what to say next. ''I'll best be goin'.'' He said to her and she nodded, staring at the ground. He turned around and was about to get on the horse, but her voice stopped his movements. ''Come back safe.'' She softly said since she had no idea when he would come back. He sighed. No one had ever actually shown concern for him and here she was, doing just that.

He decided that since he would probably not see her for a while, he should just act on what his instincts were telling him. He turned around, seeing her brown eyes looking at him in a way he still couldn't comprehend.

Without thinking about it for long, he suddenly leaned in and kissed her. The moment his lips touched hers, Riley closed her eyes, wrapping her arms around his neck to pull him closer. He wrapped his arms around her, enveloping her in his warmth. It was the first time that he had actually initiated their kiss and it hit her that she didn't know when he would be back. It felt awfully close to a goodbye. She tried to hold back the tears that she felt pricking in her eyes and pressed herself deeper into his chest, relishing in their kiss.

''Riley? Riley are you back here?'' The pair suddenly heard Carl call out in the distance. Daryl stiffened and quickly stepped away from the woman in front of him. He turned around and got up on the horse.

''You better get back soon. I'm still counting on those crossbow lessons you promised me.'' He heard her say and looked down at her, seeing she was giving him a small smile. He curtly nodded. ''See ya later.'' He said to her as he looked at her one last time before riding off. Riley frowned as she saw him leave, hoping he would be alright.

''Rileeyyyy!'' she heard Carl call out again, now sounding closer. ''In here!'' Riley said out loud. ''Hey, what were you doing?'' Carl said as he rounded the corner and spotted Riley closing the gate of a stable.

''Daryl's just got himself a horse, looking for Sophia again.'' She told him as she turned around to face to boy. ''I hope he finds her.. I really miss her.'' Carl said with a frown on his face. Riley squeezed his shoulder in comfort.

''C'mon, let's go fill up some water bottles.'' She told him and he smiled up at her. ''And no more water bombing me, Carl!'' She said as she raised her eyebrow at him and the boy laughed out loud.

* * *

**_A/N: This was probably the longest chapter I have written so far, I hope you all liked it. :) As you might have noticed, I am now going to follow the storyline of the show a bit more, so some happenings will be familiar. _****_But of course I will also make up my own stuff as well. ;) _****_I had to fit Riley into the group first and I thought it would not be very realistic to just have it all be done in one day. :/ _**

**_I noticed a few more followers & people favoring my story which is great! Thanks so much! ;) Also the people who left a review, you're awesome haha! I really appreciate it since I tend to doubt about the chapters I post, so it's nice to hear what people actually think and if they still like how the story is progressing. I really don't want to go too fast and such.. - Anyways, I hope you leave a review to tell me what you think! :)_**


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter eleven**

Two days had gone by at camp since Riley had seen Daryl leave into the woods on a horse and he still hadn't come back. Riley had been worrying from the second he left, but now that it was already the second day, she had been downright worried sick. The first night she could barely sleep, horrible thoughts entering her mind. Maybe he came across a big herd and was torn to shreds. Maybe he encountered another group and was taken hostage. Maybe he was tortured to dead.

The second day she already went to Rick, expressing her worries to him. Rick reassured her that the man would be fine, mentioning that he had been out on his own for longer periods.

Riley bit her lip as she was staring at the camp fire during dinner. She had this awful feeling in the pit of her stomach that something had happened to him. When she had first arrived at the farm, Daryl had been at camp each and every single night. She was used to him being away throughout the day, but now that they had gotten closer, she was feeling on edge, especially at night time.

''He will be alright, Riles.'' Glenn said to her all of a sudden, nudging her shoulder with his own as he pulled her out of her thoughts. He had seen her staring at the fire, holding her spoon with vegetable soup in her hand but she wasn't eating.

Riley nodded at his comment, giving him a small smile. She noticed that he had been striking up conversations with her more than normal, probably to keep her mind off of Daryl. Even Maggie had been trying to do more chores together with her yesterday so they could talk about whatever was on her mind. The three of them had actually became great friends.

''You know, I haven't seen Maggie all day. Do you know what's going?'' Riley asked Glenn. ''Maggie isn't feeling so good, so she's in bed.'' He told her and she nodded. ''She did say that her throat was feeling sore yesterday when we were feeding the chickens.'' Riley mentioned to him.

''I would actually go on a supply run with her tomorrow. The women are in need of some female things but it will have to wait.'' He said, making her frown as she thought about it.

''How about I go with you?'' She suggested and he looked at her as if she had grown a second head. ''What?'' She asked him, confused by the expression on his face. ''Uh.. I think it would be better if we uh.. don't do that.'' He told her while rubbing the back of his neck. She frowned. ''Why not? I've done it before. When this all started me and some friends had been raiding out stores too. We worked as a team, looking out for each other and such.'' She explained.

Glenn still didn't look convinced. ''You've gone out with Maggie a few times, why can't I?'' She pressed on. Glenn sighed as he leaned closer. ''Honestly Riley? Daryl had a fit when he heard you went into the woods and that was with Shane for crying out loud. Shane got his nose busted up, what do you think will happen to me if Daryl finds out I took you near walkers?'' He told her.

Riley shook her head. ''I know he would be worried but I need to be able to fend for myself too, I don't want people having to hold my hand when shit hits the fan. Besides he's not here right now.'' She told him and he frowned. ''I don't know Riley, perhaps it would be better if Andrea came go along.''

''C'mon Glenn, can't you give me a chance? These people need to see that I can't JUST do chores but other stuff as well. Please, Rick needs to realize that too. I want to help too, just give me a chance to prove it.'' She urged him. ''Ok, ok.'' Glenn finally said. ''I'll discuss it with Rick first and then I'll let you know.'' He told her and got up. She rolled her eyes but didn't stop him.

* * *

The day after Riley again had another night of restless sleep, she and Glenn had gotten permission to head out on two horses. Rick needed some convincing from Riley but when she pressed on the fact that Glenn wouldn't know the female products that were on the list Maggie had given her, he finally gave his permission.

It was actually good that Andrea had already discussed beforehand that she and Shane would go out looking for Sophia with T-Dog, or else Andrea would have been the one up for the task. Riley knew she needed to prove to Rick that she could do these things as well, instead of just sitting on the sidelines.

Riley had gotten her machete knife from Daryl's tent and they also took along two guns and a wooden bat. ''You're not bringing the crossbow Daryl gave you? Would be safer shooting from a distance.'' Glenn said as they were walking towards the stables. He was still a bit on edge about bringing her along.

''Yeah I know, but we didn't have time to practice yet and I really don't want to wreck the thing. He would bite my eat off.'' Riley told him and he chuckled. ''Yeah, when he picked it up, he actually was weighing different ones to see which one would suit you best.'' Glenn told her. ''Really?'' Riley asked in surprise and Glenn nodded. ''Yeah, he thought I wasn't seeing it since he told me to check the back of the store. But when I got back I saw him doing that.'' Glenn said with a chuckle. Riley smiled as she looked ahead. It was nice to think that Daryl actually went out of his way to get her the right sort of weapon.

''Ok, Maggie and I always take these ones.'' Glenn said as he pointed at a black horse and a dark brown one. ''What are they called?'' She asked as they went over to the corner of the stable to get the saddles. ''Uh, the black one you're taking is called something with Mary, and this one is called Betty.'' Glenn said and Riley chuckled. ''Do you think yours is named after Beth or something?'' She asked and he chuckled. ''I think it's one of Maggie's jokes.''

Riley looked at the horse she would be taking along after she was finished with putting the saddle in place. ''Well 'something with Mary' - I hope you won't kick me off your back.'' She told the horse, making Glenn chuckle.

They got on their horses and left the farm. After a few moments they reached the mail box and turned left on the road. ''You're pretty good on that horse.'' Glenn said to Riley. ''My dad gave me riding classes when I was younger.'' She said as she smiled at him.

They passed the occasionally walker on the road, but thankfully no herds. They entered the woods, following the path that Glenn had often been using with Maggie to go to town.

After about an hour, they reached their destination. Riley noticed that it was not a very big town, but it was so eerie quiet without people that the place looked gigantic. ''Ok, so Maggie and I have been in those three stores over there already and this pharmacy here.'' Glenn pointed to the left part of the street. ''That big store over there still can hold some hygiene stuff and food.''

They led their horses into an alley that was closed off at both sides with steel gates Glenn and Maggie had found on their earlier visits, so they would be sure to get their horses back when they would return.

''Ok, be quiet and follow me.'' Glenn whispered as he held out his hand to her which she took. They quietly walked down the road, keeping close to the walls of the nearby buildings. It was very quiet and so far they hadn't seen any walkers. However, they knew that didn't mean that there weren't any shuffling around somewhere.

When they reached the store, Glenn quietly tried to open the door but it was locked. ''Shit!'' Glenn cursed. ''We have to punch it open, Glenn.'' Riley whispered while checking their surroundings. Glenn nodded and got out his bat that was poking out of his backpack. He hit the bat against the glass door to create a small hole. They looked around to see if the sound had attracted anything but thankfully nothing happened.

Glenn opened the door and Riley quietly closed it behind her. ''Do you think there are any walkers here? I mean the doors were closed, the owners must have simply left.'' Riley whispered. ''I don't know but we have to stay alert, they can appear from anywhere.'' Glenn told her as they walked through the first aisle.

Both of them had brought a backpack and a shoulder bag to bring back as much as possible. ''Ok, you check the meds. I will go to the hygiene aisle.'' Riley said to Glenn who nodded. ''We meet up over at that food section over there.'' Glenn pointed out as Riley nodded. ''Ok, if you see a walker, don't do anything but just run back to me ok?'' Glenn instructed and Riley nodded.

They split up and Riley quickly found the aisle with hygiene products. She quickly scanned through her list that Maggie had given her on what the women needed.

_'Deodorant'? _She thought to herself as she noticed the first item on the list. _Ok, not really that necessary to save your life but yeah I get it - I hate smelling like sweat too. _Riley thought as she grabbed some bottles from the shelf and threw them in the shoulder bag that she borrowed from Maggie. _Don't think Daryl would find it very appealing, _she thought to herself and blushed as she was reminded back to their make out session.

_'Tampons', yes please, _she thought as she grabbed as many boxes as possible. There were a lot of women at camp.

_'Moisturizing lotion'? What? _She thought as she frowned while looking at the list in her hands. She chuckled as she noticed the letters 'WTF' written in between brackets behind it. Apparently Maggie had thought the same as her when she was making the list. Was that really something people needed? Deodorant she could understand, but this, no. She sighed but got one bottle of lotion.

_'Nourishing oil care shampoo, rose-scented'. What the fuck? Who in the world asked for this? Can't you just put down shampoo? _She thought to herself. The letters 'OMG!' were written behind it, making her grin to herself. She scanned the bottles of shampoo, but there was no 'nourishing oil care shampoo'. She just took some random bottles of shampoo from the shelf that had a minty scent. _Seriously, nowadays, shampoo is shampoo, now the men can use it as well, _she thought. _Don't think they would like to smell like a rose._

Riley looked at the next item on her list. '_Pure and sensitive cream bar'? Oh hell no, _she thought stubbornly. This was taking it way too far. She grabbed some random soap bars and walked on.

_Hmm, shaving crème and razors. Even though it's not on this list, I'm sure the men would be happy, _Riley figured as she grabbed a few of the products. _I wonder what Daryl looks like without his scruffy beard._ She tried to imagine it but shook her head. _No, way it looks way more sexier like he has it now, _she told herself with a smile on her face. She could still feel the way his beard had pleasantly pricked against her skin when he had kissed her jaw. She quickly shook her head. Her head was just filled with Daryl and it was distracting her. She wondered if he was thinking about her at the moment. _Shit, knock it off Riley, _she scolded herself.

When she was walking through the aisle, scanning along the shelves, dumping in a few products every once and a while when she had seen them on her list, she spotted a familiar products section. She bit her lip as she looked at the boxes of Trojans hanging right in front of her. Suddenly all sort of images flashed into her mind involving Daryl and her and she quickly shook her head while she felt a blush creeping up her skin.

_Oh what the heck, it can't hurt right? Better safe than sorry, _she said to herself and grabbed a few boxes, placing them in the front pockets of her shoulder bag. _Perhaps if he decides to go all caveman on me one time, I came prepared. _She thought as she bit her lip when she thought back at that one time he had pushed her against the wall of the stables. _I think I will probably be the one to go all cavewoman on him when he gets back._

As she walked back over to the front of the store to go to the food section, she saw that the counter still had some magazines, gum, various lighters and cigarettes. She thought about it and quickly dumped a few packets of cigarettes in her bag along with some lighters. She then quietly made her way over to the food section and saw Glenn was already throwing in cans of beans and tuna in his backpack.

''Shit, what did you bring?'' Glenn asked as he noticed the bulky shoulder bag on her hip that was about to explode. ''We women like hygiene and cleanness, Glenn!'' She whispered and smirked as he shook his head.

She got down on her knees to get to the carrot cans at the bottom she had seen while Glenn was still raiding the upper shelves. ''Look, I even got you these, be grateful!'' She whispered and he looked down to see her holding up a packet of condoms. ''Very funny Riley.'' He muttered a bit embarrassed and she grinned at him. Little did he know she got a few for herself as well.

''But seriously Glenn, some things on that list were way out of the question. Who in the world would be asking for a freaking specific type of shampoo or soap bar, that is insane.'' She whispered to him, making him chuckle. ''Perhaps since it's for free now, they think why not?'' He said to her.

''Glenn, it's a freaking apocalypse, and some women want flowing soft hair that breezes in the wind like it was made from rose petals. What do they want to do with it? Stun the walkers with their pretty hair? Try to suffocate them in an overload of rose scent?'' Riley questioned while rummaging through the shelf. Glenn silently laughed at her comment.

''I just got normal shampoo, I mean seriously, do you want to smell like a rose, Glenn?'' She asked and looked up at him, seeing that he widened his eyes. ''See, that's what I figured as well.'' She said with a smile.

''Could you imagine Daryl smelling like a rose? That would be hilarious.'' Glenn replied as he found another can of beans. Riley covered her mouth with her hand to hold back a laugh. ''If one particular plant would suit him, it would be a cactus.'' Glenn added and Riley now laughed. ''Shit Glenn, knock it off!'' She said as she slapped him lightly on his knee, making him grin.

''If you keep on saying those things, I might have to tell him about it.'' She said which made him freeze in the process of grabbing another can of tuna. ''You wouldn't dare!'' He said as he looked down at her seeing her grin at him. ''Riley for real!'' He pleaded and Riley now laughed. ''Oh shit no, of course not. I like my friends with their noses intact.'' She reassured him and he let out a sigh. ''You make it sound like he is a freaking terminator.'' She said. ''Well, I don't want an arrow in my ass.'' He grumbled and she chuckled.

''Oh cookies, I bet Carl would love these.'' Riley whispered as she spotted a lonely box of chocolate chip cookies in the back of a shelf.

They brought along as much as they could carry. ''Shit, this bag weighs a ton!'' Riley told Glenn while she put her second bag on her back. ''I think we perhaps brought too much.'' Glenn said as he looked at the woman in front of him with the overflowing bags. ''No, it's alright. Just got to get back on those horses.'' Riley told him and he nodded.

They quietly made their way over to the front of the store. ''Shit, stop!'' Glenn suddenly warned as he pushed Riley back. ''What, what is it?'' Riley asked him in panic. ''I saw five walkers walking in front of the entrance doors.'' Glenn replied while taking a quick glance behind the aisle they were standing. ''Shit, five?'' Riley said in fear. ''Ok, maybe they will pass.'' Glenn replied

They stood behind the aisle for a few minutes, waiting for what the walkers would do. Glenn saw that they were smelling the air, moaning. ''Oh shit, shit they are coming in. Ok get back, we are going to go to another aisle and try to dodge them.'' Glenn said and quickly pulled Riley along the end of the aisle.

Riley was panicking but she did her best to hide it in front of Glenn. He didn't need her panicking or else they would get into some serious trouble.

They heard the door open and the both of them held their breaths. Glenn watched the five walkers stumble in, going into the first aisle. ''Ok, when they are at the end, we run to the door, don't stop. We need to get to the horses.'' Glenn told her and she nodded.

Her bag was heavy on her back but she knew the group needed the food. As Glenn watched over the top of the aisle, he saw the walkers near the end of the first aisle. ''Ok, wait for a sec.'' Glenn told her as Riley was ready to take off. ''Ok they are at the end. We run at 3, alright?'' Glenn told her and she quickly nodded. ''Ok. 1…. 2… 3!'' Glenn whispered and Riley ran to the entrance doors with Glenn on her tail.

They reached the doors and Riley pulled them open, however they had stepped on the glass that Glenn had created on the floor when he had punched in the glass of one door. Glenn looked behind him and saw the walkers turning around. ''Shit run Riley!'' He now urged her and they ran out on the street, making their way over to the horses.

''Fuck! There are two walkers standing there!'' Riley called out when they were in close reach of where the horses were standing. ''I got it!'' Glenn called out and he quickly ran over, bashing one walker in its head with his wooden bat.

Riley ran after him, stabbing the other walker with her machete, the impact of the blow causing the blood to sputter on her hands. ''Ok, get them out quick!'' Riley told Glenn who was fumbling with the gates. As Glenn pulled out the black horse, it made a loud noise due to its panic. ''C'mon, c'mon!'' Glenn said pulling at the horse to get it out.

''Shit another one, hurry Glenn!'' Riley yelled as she ran over to a walker that had rounded the corner, quickly stabbing it in its head as it was stumbling towards them. The walkers from the woods had probably heard the screaming and the loud panicking noises the horses were making.

''Ok c'mon Riley!'' Glenn yelled and Riley turned around to see that he had gotten both the horses out.

She ran towards him, and he helped her get back on her horse, which was a bit difficult with the heavy bags she had on her. ''Ok, got it! C'mon, I see more coming!'' Riley said to him in panic as she saw more walkers rounding the corner. Glenn jumped on his horse and they quickly ran off into the direction of the woods.

''Oh my god, that was a close call!'' Riley called out as they were now galloping through the woods. Her hands were still shaking as she was holding on to the reinsof her horse. ''I can't believe we made it out, I saw at least fifteen more coming over.'' Glenn said.

A while later, Riley and Glenn reached the safety of the farm. They waved over to Dale who was standing on the caravan keeping watch. They quickly rode over to the stables, to let the horses have their well deserved rest.

''Where is everyone?'' Riley said as she frowned when Glenn and her were walking back towards camp. The camping fire was lit, a kettle was cooking on it, however there was nobody sitting there. ''I don't know.'' Glenn replied.

''Hey, Dale. What's going on? Where is everybody'' Glenn asked as they stopped near the caravan and dropped their heavy bags full of supplies on the ground. ''Daryl just got back.'' Dale said and frowned. ''What? That's great!'' Riley said with a big smile on her face as she was about to run off towards Daryl's tent.

''No, wait Riley. There has been an accident.'' The older man said and Riley froze in her step. ''What? What happened?'' She asked him, panic sinking in. ''He came out of the woods, but we thought he was a walker at first since he was walking too slow to be a human. Andrea accidently shot him from a distance.'' Riley gasped at the news and quickly ran off towards the farmhouse without hearing the end of the story.

She sprinted up the porch, grabbing the handle of the door and ran in. ''Riley wait!'' Maggie called out as she saw Riley pass her while she, Carol and Andrea were waiting in the living room. Riley didn't stop as she ran up the stairs.

Lori and Shane were standing in the hallway when she reached the top of the stairs.

''Wooh you wait here.'' Shane said as he grabbed Riley by her shoulders as she was about to go in the room where Hershel was treating Daryl.

''Let me go Shane!'' Riley demanded while she was struggling in the man's grip. ''Calm down, you can't go in there yet.'' Shane told her while he didn't let her go. ''I NEED TO SEE HIM, LET ME GO!'' She now angrily yelled and Shane winced at the loud volume she could actually produce.

''Riley, shit - stop! Andrea just grazed his head. He had an arrow in his side which he already had pulled out himself. Hershel is treating it right now so you can't go in there yet. Rick is already in there to overlook it and they need to concentrate.'' Shane said in a firm voice to get through to her as she was still trying to get out from his grasp.

Riley stilled her struggling as she looked at the closed door. Lori and Shane frowned at each other, having their own silent conversation.

''I'll let you go now, ok?'' Shane said and Riley slowly nodded. Shane let go of her arms and walked down the stairs again to inform the others, leaving the two women standing in the hallway. Lori saw that Riley was about to cry and reached out, taking her into her arms.

She had always thought Riley was perhaps a bit too young for Daryl and had been somewhat reluctant to trust the man with her. However, Daryl had been searching for Sophia nearly every day, showing his dedication.

Now that she was holding a sobbing Riley in her arms, she realized how much the young woman cared about the man, perhaps being the only one that actually got him out of his shell like Carol had told her when she expressed her worries. She had been changing him for the better and she knew he would keep Riley safe at all cost.

''If he had.. I don't know what I would've done..'' Riley said in between breaths. Just imagining the thought of Daryl gone already felt like her heart would split in half. She had been so worried about him the past few days and now that he was back, she realized her gut feeling had been right, he had gotten hurt. They might not know that much about each other, but she was keen on learning more about him each and every single day they'd spend time together. To think that he would have been ripped out of her life, was unimaginable. He had slowly build himself a place in her heart, and he was bound to stay there.

''He'll be all right.'' Lori whispered in Riley's ear as she kept on hugging the young woman in her arms.

* * *

Meanwhile, Daryl was being stitched up by Hershel, while Rick was sitting on a chair beside the bed. He had asked Daryl some questions on what he'd found during his search.

''Well, that girl sure has got a healthy pair of lunges.'' Hershel mumbled as he had heard Riley yelling in the hallway. Rick, who was sitting beside Hershel, couldn't help but let out a light chuckle. He looked over at Daryl, noticing the faint blush on the man's face while he didn't saying anything as he was stiffly looking away.

Daryl was purposely ignoring both of the men's reactions, feeling embarrassed about it. His chest, however, tightened at the mere thought that Riley was just standing behind the door. He had been feeling rather on edge because he could vaguely recall the faces of the people he had seen when he had gotten back, but she wasn't amongst them. The fact that he heard her calling out for him was actually making him feel both relieved and restless. He wanted to see her.

The entire time he had been away, she was all he could think of. Even when his brother was taunting him in his mind while he had fallen down, her voice was pressing in the back of his head too. _Come back safe, come back safe, come back safe._

That was what had given him the final push to do whatever was in his power to come back. To see her again. To see her smile at him, to kiss him, to look at him as if he was a man she wanted to be with, even though he was still confused why someone like her would want him.

He was damaged, his past had fucked him up - and even though there was a ton of shit she didn't know about him and so many reasons why she should not want to be with him, she still kept pressing against his walls, trying to break through. And if he was being honest with himself, she had already gotten in the minute she kissed him, no matter how stubbornly he had tried to deny that fact to himself. He frowned. Now that she was so close by - _fuckin' nerve-wrecking, _he thought to himself.

After what seemed like forever to Daryl, Hershel finished stitching his wound, and dressing it with a bandage. He also had disinfected the wound on his head, covering it with a bandage as well.

''Ok, you take these pain killers or you will feel that stinging pain throughout the night. That's not comfortable sleeping.'' Hershel said as he placed some painkillers on the bedside table. ''Man, I don't need no pills.'' Daryl muttered stubbornly to the two men.

''Fine, but it's going to be hell sleeping then.'' Hershel said but Daryl merely rolled his eyes. He was used to worse. Though he could feel the stinging in his side, which did in fact, hurt a lot. His jaw tensed. _ I ain't no fuckin' pussy, _he thought, willing away the pain.

Rick and Hershel stood up. ''You need anything?'' Rick asked the man lying on the bed. Daryl looked at him, frowning. _Yeah, her, _he thought, but quickly pushed that thought away. ''No, I'm good.'' He curtly replied.

Rick knew the man was lying but didn't say anything. He was sure that Riley was not planning on staying away anyways. Out of the two of them, he didn't really know who was actually more stubborn, Riley or Daryl. He knew the minute they would leave Daryl alone in this room, Riley would go to him. ''Ok, get some rest then.'' Rick said and left the room, followed by Hershel.

Daryl frowned as he saw the door closing behind Hershel, and he tightened the bed sheet in his hands. _Fuck, _he thought, frustrated with himself that he couldn't seem to voice certain thoughts out loud.

* * *

_**A/N: Thanks for all of your kind reviews, I'm so happy that you like this story! :) - I hoped you liked this chapter as well. I apologize for the lack of Daryl/Riley interaction, but I thought it kind of fitted with the storyline of the show. I thought since you all already know what happened to Daryl, it would perhaps be interesting te see what Riley was up to during the time of his absence.. I promise there will be more interaction between the two of them in the next chapter, since he has no idea what she has been up to while he was away. ;) - Please leave a review to tell me what you think, it's very much appreciated!**_


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter twelve**

After Riley and Lori had been sitting on the floor for nearly an hour, the door in front of them silently opened. Lori looked up and saw Rick and Hershel quietly walk out of the room. As Hershel made his way over to the stairs, Lori looked up to Rick with questioning eyes, who nodded, letting her know Daryl would be alright.

Rick then looked over at the young woman that was sleeping against his wife's shoulder. ''How is she?'' He asked Lori. ''She's beat from that supply run but she didn't want to wait downstairs.'' Lori whispered to her husband who had crouched down in front of her. ''The poor thing has been crying her eyes out.'' She added, making him frown in concern.

''How is he doing?'' She questioned him. ''He will be alright, needed some stitches and a few bandages.'' Rick answered in a quiet voice. ''Is he asleep?'' She asked as she looked over to Riley. ''No.. I think he's waiting for her. He was looking at me with questioning eyes but didn't mention it when I asked him if he needed anything.'' He whispered and Lori smiled.

''Does he really believe we don't know what's going on?'' She said with a small smile on her face. Rick shrugged, Daryl was difficult to read. ''I have to say, I think it's more serious than we first thought it was.'' He told his wife who nodded. ''I know, they've grown to care about each other.'' Lori replied.

Rick then looked at Riley and reached over to her shoulder, gently nudging her awake. Riley slowly opened her eyes, blinking a few times and looked up at him with questioning eyes.

''He's ok. Got some stitches and a few bandages but he will be alright. He needs to take it easy for a few days. He didn't want to take the pain killers Hershel gave him though, but perhaps you could persuade him. He won't do a lot of sleeping otherwise.'' Rick told her. She tiredly nodded and Rick helped her up from the floor. ''We will be outside if you need us.'' Rick told her as he reached his hand towards his wife to help her up as well. ''Ok, thank you.'' Riley said and the couple walked down the stairs.

Riley made her way over to door, and quietly knocked. ''Yeah.'' Daryl's gruff voice answered and she opened the door, stepping into the room. Only a small lamp was shining in the room and she saw Daryl lying there on his back, with a bandage around his waist and head.

She got a lump in her throat seeing him like that, he looked so vulnerable. She closed the door behind her and stepped towards the bed. ''How are you feeling?'' She asked him, trying to keep her voice as normal as possible while she was having a panic attack raging inside of her. ''Fine.'' He said looking up at her and noticing her tear streaked face. She had been crying, that was obvious.

''They said you weren't taking your pills. You should take them Daryl, it will ease the pain and help you sleep.'' She quickly said as she looked away from his eyes. She walked around the bed, feeling his eyes following her and reached over to an empty glass that was standing on the bedside table. Daryl noticed that her hand was slightly shaking and before he realized it himself, he had already reached over to grab her wrist.

''I'm fine..'' He said, making her look at him. Riley suddenly couldn't keep up the façade anymore and began to cry. He froze when he noticed her reaction. Fuck, he wasn't good with crying women. Daryl wasn't the one to comfort people but the way she stood there, crying her eyes out, he knew he needed to do something. He should reach out, however difficult it was for him.

He carefully pulled her towards him on the bed and she cried against his bare chest as he placed his arm around her. ''Shit woman, don't cry.'' He told her with a frown on his face as he laid his hand on the back of her head, feeling uncomfortable as she was sobbing hysterically. He did not know what to say or do to make her stop.

Riley pressed her head deeper into his warm body, laying her hand on his bare chest as she placed a kiss on his skin just to make sure he was really there with her. The day's events had caught up with her; the constant worrying about him, the waiting, the running, the walkers, the stabbing then finding out he had almost died - it was too much. Now that he was back, she couldn't hold it in anymore.

Daryl noticed something on her hand that was pressing against his bare chest now that she was lying so close to him. He grabbed her hand, pulling it closer to his face so he could see her skin better in the faint light that was shining next to him. He froze when he realized it was dried blood. He quickly pulled her back to look at her. ''What happened to you?'' He asked with a frown, worry edging his voice.

''I… I..'' she breathed through her sobs as she looked at him. ''What? You what?'' Daryl pressed. ''I went on a supply run with Glenn.'' She finally said after taking a few breaths. ''You what!?'' He said in a loud voice and had unknowingly pulled back too sudden as he'd forgotten that he was injured.

''Ah fuck!'' He said out loud as he felt a sharp pain going through him and he grabbed his left side, feeling it burning. ''Shit Daryl, take it easy!'' Riley scolded, quickly sitting up, hovering her hand above his. ''Don't tell me what to do, ya could have fuckin' died Riley!'' He now snapped at her, making her flinch at his harsh tone.

''Well so could you!'' She snapped right back in his face. ''You go out there nearly every day all alone and nobody knows if you make it back at the end of the day. And you were gone for three fucking days Daryl! I was worried sick! And look what happened! Got a fucking arrow in your side and nearly shot in the head! Do you think that SHIT is fucking normal!?'' She now shouted at him.

Daryl looked at her stunned in silence, surprised by her sudden outburst and the string of curses she'd let loose. No woman had ever yelled at him like that before and he had never seen her that angry either. Riley breathed heavily, trying to calm down, wiping away her tears. ''People here care about you, I care about you. Doesn't that mean anything at all?'' She asked in a small voice looking into his eyes. He frowned, looking away as he was clearly not good at dealing with these sorts of situations.

She sighed and slowly got off the bed. She felt his eyes burning into her back as she took the empty glass from the bedside table and turned over to the adjourning bathroom, to quickly wash the blood from her hands. She looked in the mirror and saw her tear-streaked face which she quickly washed as well. If she was honest to herself, she looked like shit.

She filled up the glass with water and walked back into the bedroom where Daryl was lying with his arm over his eyes. She walked over to the bedside table and took the pills that Hershel had probably left there for Daryl to take.

''Here, take these.'' Riley said and Daryl pulled his arm away from his face. ''I ain't needin' no damn pills.'' He stubbornly replied as he looked at her. She raised her eyebrow and sat down next to him on the bed, her hand in front of his face with the pills, daring him to refuse. He rolled his eyes but eventually gave in and took the pills and glass of water from her hands.

After he finished the glass of water, Riley placed it on the bedside table again and looked at the man lying beside her. ''What happened?'' She asked him. ''Stupid horse kicked me off of its back after it got scared by a snake. Fell down, hit my head and then got impaled by my own arrow.'' He muttered. She could hear the annoyance in his voice, as if he had failed. ''Then some walkers nearly got me.'' He added in a matter of fact tone as if it wasn't important. Riley frowned but she kept quiet, she knew Daryl was frustrated.

After that it was silent, neither of them was looking at each other. To Daryl, her silence was deafening. She had never been this quiet while being with him. It got him anxious and he didn't like it one bit. Normally he would not give in and just let it be - but after his near dead experience, where she had been the only thing on his mind, he realized that he needed to try and somewhat change that part of him if he wanted - whatever this thing they had going on - to work out. He sighed, defeated. ''I don't wanna fight.'' He eventually pushed himself to admit to her.

''We're not fighting Daryl.. It's just.. you don't seem to understand that you going out there nearly every day does affect this group. We care about you, whether you like it or not.'' She told him as he frowned. ''Yeah.. I know.'' He stubbornly admitted. He used to prefer to be on his own, just with his brother and that was good enough. But now that he had been in this group for such a long time already, and spend so much time with Riley, he couldn't picture his life without them anymore.

He was pulled out of his thoughts when Riley took his right hand into hers, placing a kiss on the tiny star that was tattooed on his skin. ''You stubborn man.'' She smirked at him and he rolled his eyes, feeling strange about the display of affection. It made something in his chest tightened as she turned his hand around, now placing a kiss on his palm before holding it against her cheek. He didn't understand how such a small gesture from her could feel so intimate to him. Before he realized it, he brushed his thumb over her lips, loving her beautiful smile.

She placed a tiny kiss on the tip of his thumb, liking the fact that he was showing her affection in return, even though he was probably not even realizing it himself. She gently laid his hand back on the bed before he noticed what he was actually doing, and suddenly stood up, walking over to the bathroom.

''Can you sit up for me, I need to reach your back too.'' He heard her call out, making him frown as to what she was planning on doing. He slowly sat up, grimacing at his stinging feeling he was feeling in his left side. He heard her rummaging around in the bathroom and the sound of running water. After several minutes, she came back with a bowl of water in her hands.

''Woman, what in the hell are you doing?'' He asked in confusion. ''Uh, have you seen yourself? Your skin is covered in mud and sweat.'' She replied as she smirked, carefully placing the bowl of water on the bedside table before sitting down on the bed. She picked up the washcloth she'd found in the bathroom and dipped it in the water.

She gently placed her hand against his cheek to keep his head steady and carefully wiped the wet cloth along his face. His jaw tensed at first before slowly relaxing again. He was definitely not used to someone doing this. She had felt him tense up a little so she decided to talk to him in order to get his mind off whatever he was thinking.

''You're going to have to take a shower tomorrow though, I can wash away all the dirt - but I'm sure you're going to stink by tomorrow.'' She joked and he glared at her, making her chuckle. ''Sorry, but it's the truth.'' She said with a smile on her face while she continued her work.

He looked at her as she was brushing the washcloth along his shoulders. She took his right arm by his wrist and wiped the washcloth along his bicep towards his elbow, downwards to his wrist and finally over his hand. He was mesmerized by her face as she was working in concentration to get all the dirt off his skin. She did the same with his left arm before moving towards his chest. He was immediately pulled out from his thoughts by that movement.

His muscles tensed a bit at first as she was carefully washing his chest and what she could reach from his stomach without wetting the bandage that covered him. However, the way she was doing it felt so relaxing that Daryl's eyes were actually beginning to droop by her ministrations.

Riley bit her lip to hold back a smile as she noticed that he was almost falling asleep while sitting up straight. It looked adorable but she wasn't going to say that out loud since she knew he would bite her head off if she would ever call him 'adorable'. She made quick work of cleaning his back because she knew how he'd reacted when she had seen the marks on his skin the first time.

When she was done she dropped the washcloth in the now brown water. ''There, all clean.'' She told him and he quickly opened up his eyes again. ''You're really going to need to wash your hair in the morning though.'' She said and wiped his hair back that was falling over the bandage around his head, gliding her fingers into his hair. Daryl unconsciously closed his eyes at the relaxing feeling of her hand gliding along his scalp before opening them again. He looked at her in a way she couldn't read, yet again, and she cocked her head in curiosity. ''What?'' She said with a smile and he frowned, looking away.

She bit her lip as she noticed he wanted to avoid saying whatever was on his mind. ''I think I sort of forgot to say and do something very important.'' She suddenly said and scooted a little closer to him. He looked back at her in confusion. ''Can you guess what?'' She whispered with smile on her face. ''I.. dunno..'' He breathed, finding it hard to think since she was so close to his face. She cupped his face with her hands, and this time he didn't tense up by her touch.

''I'm really happy that you're back.'' She said in honesty as she looked into his eyes. She brushed her thumbs underneath his eyes, and he could simply feel the affection radiating off of her. He didn't really know how to handle that but before he could think about it some more she leaned in and kissed him on his lips.

He closed his eyes, feeling surprisingly relieved to finally feel her lips against his own again. She brushed her tongue along his lower lip and he opened his mouth to let their tongues lazily roam around each other, both not feeling any rush because they were both tired.

After a few moments she pulled back a little and looked into his eyes with a smile on her face. She gave him a quick kiss on his lips again for good measure before she pulled back from him and stood up from the bed to carefully pick up the bowl of water she'd used, bringing it to the sink in the bathroom to get rid of the dirty water.

She suddenly heard a knock on the door and someone entering the room. She walked out of the bathroom, seeing Carol standing there with two plates of dinner in her hands.

''Hey, I thought you two might be hungry.'' Carol said. ''Oh thanks so much, Carol.'' Riley said as she walked over to the woman to take the plates she was holding.

''How are you feeling?'' Carol asked, looking at tired-looking Daryl. ''Alright, got stitched up and ready to go.'' Daryl replied as he took the plate Riley gave him. ''He will, actually, need to take it easy for a few days. Which means no running around in the woods, or hunting or even lifting a crossbow.'' Riley said as she rolled her eyes at Daryl who was now glaring at her.

Carol smiled looking at the two of them. Riley sensed Carol wanted to say something but was putting it on hold. ''Oh, I totally forgot to help Glenn with those bags of supplies.'' Riley suddenly said and placed her plate of dinner on the bedside table behind Carol. ''I'll be right back.'' She said as she got out of the room, leaving a both confused Daryl and Carol behind.

* * *

Riley quickly walked out of the house and over to Glenn who was just opening a bag of supplies near the caravan. ''Hey, I was just coming down to help you out.'' Riley said as she stopped next to him. ''Thanks.'' He said with a smile.

''So, how is he?'' Glenn asked as they began taking out various cans of food from the backpacks. ''Alright I guess, he keeps on downplaying it but I think he got hurt really bad. I mean he fell into an arrow for crying out loud. He almost got bitten by walkers. Seriously, he is such a stubborn man.'' Riley grumbled while she rolled her eyes.

Hearing Glenn chuckle she looked up at the guy. ''What?'' She asked him. ''You really care about him don't you?'' Glenn said as he placed the last can of food on the ground. ''Well.. uh yeah.. I mean we're friends so, that's normal.'' She told him.

Glenn nodded while he smiled. _Now who is downplaying what? _He thought and shook his head. He knew that way more was up between her and Daryl, but he was not going to mention it out loud.

''Rick told us that Daryl had found Sophia's doll.'' Glenn told her and she looked at him in surprise. ''Really? That's great news Glenn!'' She said with a smile on her face. ''Yeah, I think something is better than nothing.'' He said to her.

After all the cans of food were placed on the ground in front of the caravan, Riley quickly opened the front pockets of her shoulder bag.

''I didn't know you smoked.'' Glenn said in surprise as he saw Riley pulling out four packets of cigarettes from her bag. ''They're not for me.'' Riley said as she dumped the cigarette packets in the front pockets of the vest she was wearing along with the lighters she had brought. Glenn raised his eyebrows at her reply, already figuring out for who the cigarettes were, but decided not to mention it.

''Oh, these are for you by the way.'' Riley said to him and gave him two packets of condoms. ''Oh uh.. thanks.'' He awkwardly replied and Riley chuckled. ''Better safe than sorry Glenn!'' She told him and he blushed. As he looked away Riley quickly snatched the two other boxes of condoms she still had in bag and stuffed them in the front pockets of her vest as well.

''Ok, I will get these things over to the Lori. You ok with those meds?'' Riley asked as she stood up, holding her shoulder bag in her hands. ''Yup, will bring them to Hershel.'' Glenn said and Riley nodded.

As Riley made her way over to the Grimes' tent, she noticed that Carl was sitting outside on the ground, playing with a small ball. ''Yo Carl, I brought you something!'' Riley said as she walked over to him. ''Huh, what?'' Carl asked curiously.

Riley pulled out the box of cookies and saw Carl's eyes go wide. ''Oh my god, I haven't had cookies in ages!'' He exclaimed as he grabbed the box from her hands. ''I thought so. Don't tell your mother though. Our little secret, ok?'' She said and he nodded furiously.

''Oh, can you give this shoulder bag to your mom when she comes back?'' Riley asked as she noticed that Lori was not in the tent. ''Sure, what's in it?'' He asked her while he curiously looked at the heavy shoulder bag she dropped in front of him. ''Girl's stuff.'' Riley said and winked. Carl pulled a face and she chuckled.

''See you tomorrow alright?'' Riley said as she ruffled his hair. ''Ok, goodnight Riley!'' He said as he quickly got into the tent, bringing the box of cookies with him. Riley smiled as she walked back over to the house.

* * *

''Your dinner is cold now.'' Daryl grumbled at her as she closed the door behind her. ''Doesn't matter. Still had some stuff to do.'' She said as she picked up her plate from the bedside table and sat beside him on the bed. She chewed on the now cold baked chicken which still tasted delicious.

''So, what did Carol say to you?'' She suddenly asked him since she was rather curious about it. ''Hm.. somethin' 'bout me being a good man and all 'cause I'm lookin' for her little girl.'' He said recalling the uncomfortable conversation he had with Carol. She even kissed him on his head, which was.. weird.

He already needed to get used to Riley's display of affection, but he secretly enjoyed that because it made him feel wanted by her. It was something he was still so uncertain about and was unconsciously seeking out reassurance by her. With Carol, on the other hand, he had no idea how to react to that sort of affection.

Riley smiled up at him and noticed the uncomfortable look on his face. ''Well, she's right.'' She said to him and he looked away, now embarrassed. ''Nothin' Rick or Shane wouldn't do.'' He mumbled, staring at his hands. She frowned at him as he said that. Did he really think he was any less than those two men?

After she had finished her dinner, she placed her plate on top of his plate on the bedside table. ''Oh, I got you something!'' She said and she pulled out the four packets of cigarettes. ''How'd you know I smoked?'' He asked her in confusion as she placed the packets on the bedside table.

''I dunno.. I sorta thought you would.'' She said and he frowned. ''Somethin' wro-..'' he started off on a defensive tone but she quickly cut him off. ''No, it's kinda sexy.'' She said and winked at him, while he scoffed but she could see a faint blush on his cheeks. ''Oh, I got you these as well.'' She said as she showed him the few lighters she had snatched along as well and placed them beside the packets of cigarettes.

As she did that, she didn't notice that a packet of condoms had fallen out from her pocket. Daryl saw something fall on the bed and picked it up, his eyes widening a bit as he realized what it was.

''Why do you have these?'' He asked her in slight curiosity. She looked at what he was holding in his hand and her eyes widened. ''Oh uh.. those are uh.. for Glenn.'' She lied and quickly snatched the packet from his hands.

''What? Chinaman?'' He said as he frowned in confusion. ''Yes, Glenn from Korea, Daryl.'' She told him and he rolled his eyes. ''You like him or somethin'?'' He asked her now with a hint of jealousy in his voice which didn't go unnoticed by her. Had he been reading everything wrong between them?

''What? No!'' She quickly replied making him raise his eyebrow at her. ''What? I mean he's nice and all but not like that. We're friends and we hang around a lot but that-.'' She started to ramble since his question made her nervous and she was lying straight through her teeth.

''Riley get to the point!'' He now said and Riley chuckled as she noticed the look of frustration on his face. ''They're not for me. They're for him and Maggie.'' Riley explained. ''What? He's bangin' the farmer's daughter? Shit, didn't think he would've had it in him.'' Daryl smirked and Riley rolled her eyes at his choice of words.

''So, I best get these plates back downstairs.'' She told him as she got up. ''You comin' back?'' He asked before he realized it as she took the empty plates from the bedside table. ''Oh uh, sure.'' She replied with a smile.

She quickly got out of the room and walked downstairs to place the empty plates in the kitchen sink. She looked out the window and saw that most of the people were already in their tents. She bit her lip as she knew she probably had spent a lot of time in Daryl's room.

She only saw Dale and Andrea still outside by the camping fire and Shane keeping watch on the caravan. She walked out of the kitchen, noticing some light coming from the living room and walked over to see that Maggie was lying on the couch. ''Hey.'' She said as she stepped into the living room and Maggie looked up.

''Hey.'' Maggie said and suddenly sneezed. ''Oh, I better not come closer.'' Riley said and chuckled. ''I'm having a cold, in this weather. Can you believe it?'' Maggie said, frustrated with her nose and Riley shook her head as she chuckled.

''So, how's your man?'' Maggie asked and Riley turned red. ''Don't call him that Maggie!'' Riley said in warning and Maggie laughed which quickly turned into a coughing fit. ''Shit Maggie! Are you alright?'' Riley said in panic as she was about to walk over to her friend. ''Yes, just.. ugh.. a cough..'' Maggie said and blew her nose in a tissue while Riley felt pity for her.

''So, how is he doing?'' Maggie asked as Riley sat on the far end of the couch so she wouldn't be the victim of Maggie's coughs. ''Alright considering the circumstances.'' Riley replied. ''Did he really pull out an arrow from his body?'' Maggie asked and Riley nodded. ''Yeah, can you believe it? That man is made from bricks or something.'' Riley said, making Maggie chuckle.

''He just wanted to get back to his girl, of course he would do that.'' Maggie hinted, making Riley blush. ''Or wait, he doesn't call you girl now does he?'' Maggie said as she tapped her finger against her chin. ''What was it.. woman, right? Very caveman of him.'' Maggie said with a smile on her face and now Riley turned bright red.

''Shut up Maggie! I don't want people to know that! You better stop saying those things or else I won't tell you anything anymore.'' Riley said to her friend who chuckled. ''I won't tell a soul, I promise. Your secrets are safe with me.'' Maggie replied, holding her hands up in surrender, making her friend chuckle.

''But I mean.. c'mon Riley, it's beginning to get a bit obvious between the two of you, you know - no need in denying it anymore. Everyone already noticed that you were spending a lot of time in his room just now. And the fact that you yelled bloody murder when you were standing in the hallway upstairs. We could all hear that from way over here.'' Maggie said, making Riley bite her lip since she now realized that she had been rather loud when she'd found out that Daryl had been in an accident.

''I know.. but he already has a difficult time showing any sort of affection towards me. He's just learning those things, I don't want him running for the hills just at the mere thought of people actually knowing he's doing that.'' Riley said, making Maggie frown. ''You have chosen yourself a very complicated man, Riles.'' Maggie said to her friend who smiled. ''I know, but he's definitely worth it.'' She said with a dreamy look on her face, making Maggie laugh before getting into another coughing fit.

A few minutes later, Riley quietly walked up the stairs again after bidding goodnight to her sick friend on the couch. She opened the door to the room Daryl was staying in and saw that the man had already fallen asleep. She had noticed that he was fighting against sleep when they were talking earlier.

She smiled and walked over to the window, closing the curtains. She quietly made her way over to his side, leaning down to give him a soft kiss on his lips, whispering goodnight to him. He grumbled something while frowning but didn't wake up.

She brushed her hand along his cheek, finding it hard to let him go for the night. She thought about staying with him, but she knew that people were aware of the fact that she was in his room. Her earlier talk with Maggie only confirmed that. It probably wouldn't be such a good idea to do this now.

She sighed and reluctantly stepped away from Daryl, before she turned off the lamp on the bedside table, quietly making her way over to the door. After taking on last glance at the sleeping man, she slowly got out of the room, closing the door silently behind her.

* * *

_**A/N: I really hope you liked this chapter, I worked my head off this weekend to get it finished for you guys haha! I know you were probably waiting to see what would happen when Riley got to see Daryl again after a few days. Anyways, I did a lot of re-reading and re-writing on this chapter, but I hope it was alright. I noticed a few more followers which is awesome! And of course the people that left a review, you make my day! ;) - Thanks so much to everyone that is reading this story. - Please leave a review to tell me your thoughts on how the story is progressing, I would really appreciate it!**_


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter thirteen**

The next morning Riley woke up feeling rather tired since she had been having trouble sleeping the entire night. She checked her watch, seeing it was already 9:42 in the morning. _Shit, I slept in late and it feels like I haven't even slept at all by the zillion times I woke up last night, _she thought to herself as she yawned.

She quickly dressed in some skinny jeans and a navy colored top, leaving her hair down since she didn't feel like braiding it today. She just placed in some hairpins to get her bangs out of her face since they had gotten rather long, before stepping out of her tent. She saw that a few people were already up and about. T-Dog and Glenn were chopping wood while Dale and Andrea were sitting on top of the caravan, watching out in the distance. She quickly made her way over to the house.

As she entered the hallway, she heard voices in the kitchen and made her way over. She saw Lori and Carol making breakfast on the kitchen counter. ''Good morning.'' She said to them as she made her way over to the counter.

''Morning Riley, how are you feeling?'' Carol asked as she was filing a few glasses with milk. ''Alright I guess. Haven't been able to sleep that much though.'' Riley replied tiredly as she held back a yawn. ''Well I don't blame you after what happened yesterday.'' Lori told the young woman.

''You need any help with those?'' Riley asked as she pointed at the sandwiches that Lori was making. ''No, you just sit down and eat this.'' Lori said as she gave her a plate with a sandwich. She knew Riley had a terrible day yesterday, and she looked rather tired. ''Thanks Lori.'' Riley said with a smile and began to eat at the dining table.

After fifteen minutes the women were done with fixing all the sandwiches. ''We're going to hand these out. Can you bring these up to Daryl when you're finished?'' Carol said, placing a plate with two sandwiches on the table in front of Riley, along with a glass of milk. ''Sure.'' Riley said. ''Ok, see you later.'' Lori said as Carol and her walked out of the kitchen.

After Riley was finished eating, she grabbed the plate and glass of milk from the table and made her way up the stairs.

She quietly opened the door to the room Daryl was in and noticed he was still asleep. She smiled since the room was still dark, the curtains only giving away a bit of light. She had closed them on purpose yesterday night so he would sleep in instead of getting up before the break of dawn like he normally had a habit on doing.

She carefully placed the plate and glass of milk on the bedside table and closed the door behind her. She sat down on her knees on the bed, carefully looking at the sleeping man in front of her. He looked more peaceful since there was no frown on his face. She didn't want to wake him, but the urge to touch him was stronger. She had been having nightmares all night long about him dying, or coming back to camp covered in blood.

She slowly moved her hand to the side of his cheek, trailing her fingers from his jaw to the bandage that was wrapped around his head, brushing away his hair that was still dirty since he hadn't washed it when he got in yesterday.

Suddenly she noticed that the familiar frown appeared on his face again and his eyes slowly opened. ''Morning.'' She whispered to him as he blinked a couple of times, before focusing on her, which was a bit difficult due to the darkness in the room.

''What were you doing?'' He asked her, his voice still tick from his sleep as he brushed his hand over his eyes. ''Nothing.'' She told him with a smile and laid down next to him, propped up on her elbow. ''Where'd you go yesterday?'' He asked her since he had woken up in the middle of the night, and she wasn't there. ''Well, when I got back you were already asleep. So, I let you sleep.'' She told him and he frowned. _Guess I was more tired than I thought, _he thought to himself.

''Oh, you hungry? Carol and Lori made some breakfast.'' She said while sitting up. ''I guess..'' He said as he slowly sat up as well, wincing a bit since his side was stinging a lot. Riley got up from the bed, handing him his breakfast and made her way over to the curtains. ''Shit that light is bright.'' Daryl complained as the sunlight was shining through when Riled pulled open the curtains. ''Yup.'' Riley said and chuckled.

''What time is it?'' He asked her before taking a bite from his sandwich. ''Uh, it's 10:20 in the morning.'' She said as she checked her watch. ''What?'' Daryl said in surprise. It had been a very long time ago since he had slept in so late. Riley smiled as she stood in front of the bed. ''Yeah sorry, my fault. Thought you needed the sleep.'' She said with a smile, seeing him frowning. He gave her his signature nod and took another bite of his sandwich. He noticed now that the room was brightened, she looked rather tired, making him frown in concern.

As he was eating, Riley walked around in the room, viewing the various pictures on the wall. ''This is such a nice country home. Living in a city didn't allow me to have that much green and such around me. My dream was to live in a house somewhere near the woods.'' She told him and he nodded as he watched her smile. She always managed to find a subject to talk about, taking his mind of off things.

After he was finished eating, she took the plate from him, placing it on the bedside table. ''So, how are you feeling?'' She asked him as she sat down next to him. ''Fine.'' He told her as he looked at her. ''Ok, and how are you really feeling?'' Riley asked as she raised one of her eyebrows.

''Ok shit, my side still hurts but that's it.'' He grumbled and she bit back a chuckle as he looked away. ''Well, I surely hope you feel better soon.'' She told him in a teasing voice, making him look at her. ''Wha?'' He asked her as she was giving him this strange look. She smiled and leaned closer to his face. ''I said, I surely hope you feel better soon.'' She whispered as she looked into his eyes.

''Yeah?'' He breathed. He couldn't seem to think straight as she was so close to his face. She didn't reply and leaned in closer, but suddenly pulled back a little and he noticed she was wriggling her nose a bit.

''What?'' He said as a wave of rejection washed over him. Didn't she just wanted to kiss him? ''You mister.. stink.'' She said and grinned at him. He rolled his eyes, looking away from her.

''How about you take a shower?'' She said and stood up again. ''Shit, I never use these showers here, just go jump in a river.'' He grumbled, unknowingly frustrated that he didn't get that kiss. ''C'mon, a nice hot shower won't kill you. I'll go get you your things.'' She said and before he knew it she was already out of the door.

He slowly sat up, wincing at the stinging pain he felt in his side, the pain killers he took last night had definitely worn off. ''Fuckin' shit, can't do anything like this,''He grumbled to himself, annoyed by the fact that he felt so useless and weak. He slowly stood up, holding on to his side, and walked over to the bathroom. As he reached the mirror, his eyes widened. _Shit, it looks like I've been run over by a buss, _he thought as he took in his appearance.

After a few minutes he heard the door of the bedroom opening and closing again. He slowly walked out of the bathroom, seeing Riley laying down various items on the bed. ''Ok, I got you some clean clothes, a new toothbrush, shaving crème and a razor. Also brought some new bandages so I can change those ones you have now.'' She pointed at him.

''I dunno if there is already shampoo and such in the bathroom or else I'll have to check the bag I gave to Lori yesterday.'' She said more to herself than to him and walked pass him to check the cabinets in the bathroom.

Daryl, on the other hand, stood there in the middle of the room, viewing the various items on the bed. He didn't understand why she was doing all of this. She had washed him yesterday, now she was getting him his clothes, new bandages, wanting to redress his wounds - just taking care of all those things for him. He frowned as he automatically tried to figure out any ulterior motives on her part, but he came in blank. His frowned as he began to realize what she was doing, she was taking care of him.

''Ok, I already found everything in the bathroom - I've placed the soap, toothpaste, shampoo and conditioner on the table next to the tub. I placed two towels for you there as well.'' Riley said as she walked over the bedroom again. She stopped as she noticed that he was standing still in the middle of the room, staring at the bed in deep thought. She walked over to him, placing her hand on the small of back. He instantly flinched out of habit at the sudden contact.

''You ok?'' She asked, concern edging her voice, seeing the strange look on his face. ''Yeah, gonna take that shower.'' He merely grunted and was about to take his boxers from the bed but she stopped him by grabbing his wrist.

''Let me get those dirty bandages off first.'' She said and before he could object to it, she already made him sit on the bed. She stood in between his legs as she carefully unwrapped the bandage from his head, seeing the deep cut on his forehead that Andrea had caused. ''Shit, you were lucky Daryl.'' She said as she brushed his hair away from the cut to see it more clearly. She noticed he also had small wound on the other side of his forehead, clearly caused by falling off his horse. She frowned as she held back his hair to view it better, seeing if it was a deep cut or not.

Daryl had merely grunted in reply, feeling her fingers gently prodding along his forehead while he eyed the skin that peeked from underneath her top as she was moving her arms. He seriously had to hold back not to lean in and kiss her stomach, letting his tongue glide over the soft skin as he..- ''Ok, next one.'' She said, pulling him from his thoughts, and kneeled down to carefully unwrap the bandage that was wrapped around his waist.

His jaw tensed since he could feel her breath against his stomach when she had to lean forwards to reach around his back, her cheek brushing against his skin, before moving back again. She clearly had no idea what she was doing to him. To her it might've been all normal to do such a thing - to him it was a completely unfamiliar experience.

''God, I can't believe you were able to pull out an arrow from your own body.'' She said, eying the neatly stitched wound on his side and then checking behind him to see where the tip of the arrow had probably come out. She leaned back again, staring at his stitches. She frowned as she thought about it, he could have died if the arrow had impaled him any differently.

Daryl frowned as he looked down to see her staring at his wound, making him feel uncomfortable. He knew it looked fucking ugly. ''Riley.'' He said, pulling her from her thoughts. She looked up at him and smiled. ''You're one brave man Daryl Dixon.'' She said as her hands squeezed his knees a little, making his face flush in surprise.

She stood up and grabbed his boxers along with the razor, shaving crème and toothbrush. He slowly stood up as well. ''Here.'' She said, giving him his things. ''Thanks.'' He mumbled, feeling awkward, and took the items from her hands before he walked into the bathroom, closing the door behind him.

Riley frowned at his peculiar behavior. She didn't understand why he was acting so strange. She shrugged her shoulders and walked over to the closet, seeing if there were any clean bed sheets she could use to change the current sheets on the bed. She didn't want Daryl to lie in a dirty bed and she didn't want Hershel to be having any complaints about their group either as Daryl was using one of his guestrooms. After finding everything she needed, she got to work.

After twenty minutes Daryl walked out of the bathroom, freshly washed and his beard trimmed. Though he didn't want to admit it, that shower felt a lot better than washing in a cold river. ''Well, you certainly cleaned up nice, huh?'' Riley said to him as she took in his appearance, while she was changing the cover of a pillow. _Bare chest, muscular, freshly washed and all man, _she thought and bit her lip while looking him up and down with her eyes. _Good thing I didn't give him his shirt yet, _she thought with a blush on her face.

Daryl just grunted in reply, not noticing her checking him out and being completely oblivious about the compliment she was giving him about his looks. He carefully sat down on the bed, laying his back against the pillow.

She tossed the pillow she was holding in her hands next to him and got the clean bandages she had placed on the bedside table, tossing the rolls beside him on the bed. ''Ok, let's redress those wounds.'' She said and took off her dirty boots.

He frowned as he watched her standing there on one leg, pulling off her boot before dumping it on the floor. She grinned at him, giving him a wink as she saw him staring at her, and he flushed at her behavior. She did the same movement to get the other boot off. She was seriously, the strangest woman he had ever met.

She walked over to him and before he knew it, she planted herself in between his legs, placing her own legs over his. He raised his eyebrow at her. ''What?'' She asked, clearly not noticing how her position was affecting him. ''Nothin'..'' He mumbled.

She picked up the first role of bandage laying beside them and carefully start to wrap the bandage around his waist, trying not to cause him any more pain. Daryl bit the inside of his cheek nervously as she leaned in to wrap the bandage around his body, her cheek leaning against his chest. He smelled her familiar strawberry scent and let out a breath as he felt her cool hands on his bare stomach and her fingers gently prodding against his skin. He tried to think about anything else but the woman touching him. She was being so gentle with him, caring for him, he couldn't seem to comprehend all the feelings he was feeling and it was quite overwhelming.

After she was finished, she started with the two cuts on his forehead. She held back his towel dried hair and placed a small bandage on the first cut, doing the same for the other. ''There, all done.'' She said with a smile on her face. She saw his jaw was tense and she placed her hand underneath his chin, making him look at her. ''Ok, are you going to tell me what's going on now?'' She asked with a raised eyebrow.

He frowned, trying to straighten out what he was thinking. ''Just not used to it.'' He mumbled as he looked to the side. ''Used to what?'' She pressed on. He sighed, feeling uncomfortable to say what was on his mind. ''This.'' He eventually said and gestured with his hand between the two of them. He hoped she would understand because he was definitely not going to say such things out loud.

She gave him a gentle smile, now understanding that what was normal for her was probably unfamiliar to him. She knew how he was about physical contact and the fact that he wasn't used to people caring for him. ''I'm sorry, it just goes automatically,'' she said, ''I'll uh.. try to.. lessen it.'' She added with a frown on her face. She didn't want to make him feel uncomfortable with what she considered to be normal for her.

Daryl, however, shook his head. He didn't want her to change herself for him, it's what he liked about her, that she was not tiptoeing around him but kept being herself. ''No.. I just.. need to get used it, that's all.'' He said and she nodded.

He looked at her, and she looked back, both staring into each other's eyes. There was this pull between them, but Daryl was still hesitant because he was over thinking it - which made him hold back. She shook her head a little and without any warning, just leaned in and instantly closed the gap between them.

Daryl sighed as he felt her lips against his. He slowly brushed his hand into her hair, liking the fact that she'd wore it down today. She glided her tongue over his bottom lip and he opened his mouth a little to let their tongues tangle with each other. She trailed her fingers over his chest, and he held back a groan. His free hand brushed along her knee, over towards her thigh. He leaned forward to press his lips a bit harder against hers but suddenly flinched at the movement, pulling back. ''Fuck!'' He cursed while he grabbed his injured side as he had completely forgotten about it.

''Oh shit, are you ok?'' She asked him in concern and looked down to check the bandage on his side to see if there was any blood seeping through which thankfully hadn't. ''Ok, I don't think you pulled your stitches but Hershel still needs to check it.'' She told him and was about to get up from the bed but she was held back as Daryl placed his hands on her legs. ''Nah it's fine, just a wrong movement.'' He told her as he slowly moved a bit, grimacing as he felt this stinging feeling in his side.

He looked at her and saw that she was frowning while she looked at his bandage. ''Shit woman, we were in the middle of somethin' here.'' He then said without thinking and Riley had to bite her lip in order not to laugh because she could clearly hear the frustration in his voice. She gently pushed him against the pillow behind him since she had noticed the look of pain on his face when he had leaned forward. ''And what exactly were we doing, hm?'' She teased.

He narrowed his eyes at her and she bit her lip, holding back a chuckle. He knew what she was doing. He slowly reached out his hand, laying it against the side of her face to pull out her lower lip from between her teeth with his thumb. He placed his other hand on the back of her neck and pulled her in for another kiss.

Riley closed her eyes as she sighed into the kiss and gasped as he gently pulled at her lower lip with his teeth. He slowly started to kiss her along her jaw, his beard prickling against her skin. ''I think I'd rather be the one to be biting your lip from now on, woman.'' He whispered huskily in her ear and she blushed at his comment. He smirked as he heard gasp and nibbled at her earlobe. _She ain't the only one that can tease, _he thought to himself in satisfaction.

After their nice make out session, she helped Daryl getting dressed, receiving a lot of grumps and complaints that he could do it by himself but Riley insisted on helping him. He'd even called her a stubborn woman and she just raised her eyebrow at him, saying 'look who's talking', which quickly shut him up.

He was complaining about the fact that he didn't want to be cooped up in the house and asked, or rather demanded, to send someone to get him downstairs, since she was not allowing him to do that on his own. The fact that he actually listened to her spoke volumes to the both of them.

* * *

Riley closed the door behind her with a grin on her face as she had stepped into the hallway. She touched her lips, still feeling Daryl's lips on her own. She smiled and walked down the stairs.

After she'd gotten a few more painkillers from Hershel since she realized that Daryl's painkillers had worn off by the look of pain on his face he tried to hide from her, she reached the front porch but slowed down her pace as she was hearing a hushed conversation going on from outside the house.

''I really should tell them Maggie, it's dangerous.'' Glenn said. ''No, you are not going to tell anyone. It's my dad's decision, you don't want to leave do you?'' Maggie asked and Riley heard Glenn sigh.

''No, but still - don't you think that everyone has a right to know that there are like a dozens of-…'' Glenn started but Maggie quickly cut him off. ''No Glenn, I said no!'' Maggie snapped. ''Ok, fine. We talk about it some more when I get back from the pharmacy.'' Glenn said.

''I'm not letting you go on your own, Glenn.'' Maggie replied. ''I need to go Maggie, Lori personally asked me for it.'' Glenn replied. ''Well, why didn't she ask it yesterday when you went on a supply run with Riley? Do you have to cater to her every need or something?!'' Riley then heard Maggie snap and she frowned. _Ok, what is going on? _She wondered.

''You're still sick.'' Glenn said. ''I'm fine, I took those medicines yesterday and I have no more headaches and the sneezing is gone. Just a sore throat.'' She replied. ''I can ask Riley to come with me again if you are that worried about me going alone.'' Glenn suggested.

''No, she's caring for Daryl now and I don't want her to go two days in a row. Yesterday was already crazy enough for her.'' Maggie stated. ''Maggie…'' Glenn pleaded. ''No Glenn, you are taking me with you. I'm going to get the horses ready.'' Maggie said as a final statement and Riley heard Maggie walk down the steps of the porch, followed by a sighing Glenn.

''Ok, what was that all about?'' Riley wondered to herself while stepping out on the front porch of the farm house. She knew not to eavesdrop on people, but that argument Glenn and Maggie were having surely sounded like something very important. She decided to talk to Glenn about it later since he obviously was upset.

Stepping on the grass she saw Rick and Shane in the distance talking, and marched right up to them.

''Uh Rick, can I ask you something?'' She asked as she stopped in front of the two men. ''Sure. What's wrong?'' Rick asked her. ''Daryl, he wants to get out of the house but I don't want him to be pulling any stitches so he needs some help getting down the stairs. I'm afraid that if I do it and he accidently falls - I can't get him back up.'' Riley told him and he nodded. ''Right, I'll go help him out.'' He said and walked off, leaving Riley with Shane.

''So.. you and him, huh?'' Shane suddenly said and Riley turned to face him. ''Hm?'' She replied. ''You and Daryl.. You guys official now?'' He asked. ''I uh.. don't really know Shane.'' She told him truthfully since it was still a big question mark to herself what Daryl and her exactly were now.

''Well, I know things are not so great between the two of us, but I still wanna try and be your friend, Riley. I guess what I'm saying is.. just be careful around the guy, ok?'' He told her and the moment the last part of the sentence was out of his mouth she got angry.

''Why is everyone keep saying me to be careful? Daryl may be a bit tempered but he's not some sort of aggressive animal or something!'' Riley snapped. She was getting sick and tired of hearing the same story over and over again with these people using different words with the same meaning.

''Look.'' Shane said as he now stood in front of her.'' Rick told me not to say anything but since I do want to protect you, I wanted to tell you.'' He started. ''Well, what then?'' Riley asked impatiently.

''When Andrea accidently shot him, Rick and I carried Daryl back to the farm.. but shit Riley, he had freaking walkers' ears hanging around his neck like some sort of trophy. Rick tore them off before we got to the rest of the group so it wouldn't freak people out.'' He told her and she frowned.

''You think a normal, sane person would have a necklace full of ears?'' He asked. She bit back her tongue since Daryl's warning was going through her head about the man in front of her. He wasn't so sane either if he had left a man to die and never fess up about it.

She looked at him questioningly, trying to figure out if he was actually telling the truth or not. ''Well, if you don't believe me go ask Rick then, or better yet, the man in question.'' He told her as he looked passed her.

She turned around and saw Rick carefully helping Daryl down the front porch. Riley didn't give it a second thought and quickly walked over to the pair, getting Daryl's other arm around her neck to help Rick.

''Shit, you people treat me as if I'm a fuckin' invalid. I can walk you know!'' Daryl snapped. ''Yes, walking with two holes in your body covered up in stitches that might rip from any movement is always such a good idea.'' Riley commented sarcastically and Daryl glared at her but it did stop him from saying anything further. Rick actually had to hold back a chuckle at that little come-back from Riley. She surely could hold her own against the redneck.

After they helped Daryl getting settled into his tent, Rick stood in front of the entrance. ''You guys ok in here?'' Rick asked as Riley rummaged through Daryl's bag to find him a bottle of water, while the man in question was lying down on his sleeping bag, looking rather annoyed.

''Yup sure, thanks Rick.'' Riley said to him. Rick nodded and was about to walk away but stopped. ''Daryl, no hunting or searching for a few days ok. Hershel's orders.'' Rick told the redneck.

''Whatever man.'' Daryl said and looked away in frustration. Rick then looked at Riley who give him a nod. ''If he moves, I will shoot him in the ass.'' She said and gave him a big innocent smile. ''Why do I get the feeling that you would actually do that?'' Rick said and chuckled as he walked away.

''Shit woman, what is it with you and my ass?'' Daryl grumbled as Riley had finally found a bottle of water. ''Well, the fact that you have a nice ass?'' She teased as she turned around to face him. He rolled his eyes but didn't manage to hide the small blush forming on his face.

''I always like walking behind you.'' She continued, sitting up again from her place to suddenly plant herself on his lap. He eyed the woman as she placed herself so close to him. ''Nice firm one,'' Riley went on, ''just want to bite into those che-'' she added but was quickly cut off.

''Riley, knock it off.'' Daryl said feeling all awkward and Riley chuckled. ''Nope.'' She replied as she winked at him. It was so easy to get a rise out of him when she flirted with him. She could tell from his behavior that he wasn't used to it at all but she was willing to teach him a thing or two.

He placed his hands on her legs, not knowing what to do with them while she reached into the pocket of her jeans, taking out some painkillers. ''I asked Hershel for some more of these.'' She said, handing him the pills. She grabbed the bottle of water she had placed beside the sleeping bag and gave it to him. He was looking at her with her frown on his face. ''C'mon Daryl, it's just some pain killers.'' She said and rolled her eyes. His face turned into a scowl, making her smile at him. However, he eventually took the pain killers.

After he was done, she looked him right in his eyes, making him looking away. ''So, are you going to keep your promise?'' She asked and he looked back at her. ''Huh?'' He replied. ''About not leaving your tent?'' She said as she raised her eyebrow. He rolled his eyes. ''Yeah whatever.'' He said. She smiled and suddenly wrapped her arms around his neck.

''I'll keep you company if you like?'' She suggested and he looked back at her, not knowing what to say to that. She smiled and leaned in closer, pressing her lips to his. They slowly kissed each other as Riley moved one of her hands to brush through his hair.

He moved his lips to kiss her jaw. ''So, what's your answer to that?'' She breathed as he slowly sucked on the soft skin of her neck, while his beard was prickling against her skin. ''I think you know.'' He huskily whispered into her ear as he slowly rubbed his hands along her thighs to her ass and eventually stayed on her waist. When she was so nearby, kissing him, he couldn't seem to think straight anymore and just acted on instinct, telling her whatever popped into his mind without no restraint.

Riley had to hold back not to press herself against him while goosebumps were forming on her skin. She wondered if he had made that move unconsciously. ''Good,'' she said and give him a quick kiss on his lips before she got off from his lap, making him groan in frustration.

''Now, you stay here and rest.'' She told him as she was about to walk out of the tent. ''Don't tell me what to do, woman.'' He grumbled in frustration. Riley just ignored his empty comment.

''Oh by the way.'' She suddenly said and looked back at him. ''I sort of lied to you yesterday.'' She recalled. ''Lied, 'bout wha?'' He asked, his face turning serious. ''Those condoms, they weren't for Glenn.'' She said with a smile and got out of his tent, leaving the now stunned man behind.

She grinned as she made her way over to Andrea, Lori and Carol who were sitting underneath a tree. ''So, what are you so happy about, huh?'' Lori asked the young woman who pulled up a chair and sat down. ''Nothing.'' Riley said while still grinning.

''You know uh Riley.. about yesterday.'' Andrea started.'' I didn't have a chance to talk to you yet.. and I wanted to say that.. well, I'm sorry that.. I sort of uh.. nearly killed Daryl.'' She told the woman sitting next to her.

''Andrea, it's not me you should be apologizing to.'' Riley told the blonde woman. ''Yeah I know but still.. I mean you guys are .. well.. sort of together.'' Andrea replied, making Riley blush. ''We are not.'' Riley tried to say but Andrea chuckled along with Lori, and even Carol was holding her hand in front of her mouth.

''What?'' Riley asked. ''It's obvious Riley, no need to hide it.'' Andrea said. Riley bit her lip, knowing that her 'thing' with Daryl was probably out now. ''I sort of.. don't know how Daryl feels about that.. that's why I'm not saying anything.'' She confessed, making the other women nod. ''Well, it doesn't really matter, as long as you two know what's up.'' Andrea said.

''Well, that's difficult too. I'm not sure how he feels.'' Riley stated. ''I'm sure he feels the same way you do, honey.'' Carol smiled and Riley unsurely nodded. ''Just take it as it goes.'' Lori suddenly said.

After everything, Lori decided not to be against this whole connection Riley and Daryl seemed to have going on. Instead she thought it would be better to just be supportive since she knew that Riley would surely have a good influence on Daryl, which in turn would be better for the whole group anyways.

''Well, I better go apologize.'' Andrea said and sighed. ''You are sounding as if you are going to die.'' Lori said while the others laughed. ''Well, it's Daryl. Out of all the people to accidently shoot around here, I got him!'' Andrea said out loud.

''Just say you're sorry, he won't bite.'' Riley said while Andrea stood up. ''Yeah, you he doesn't bite. Pff.. well, I think I'm going to see Dale first, see if he might have an idea for some sort of peace offering.'' Andrea mumbled and walked off. ''Or more like, bribe.'' Lori added out loud and Andrea stuck out her tongue, making the others laugh.

After Andrea left, Riley helped Carol with washing some clothes. During their work she saw Glenn and Maggie come back from their supply run. They were having another argument again since Maggie suddenly just left him standing there and walked right over to Lori who was folding clothes from a nearby clothing line.

Riley frowned as Maggie seemed to throw something at Lori before storming over to the house. _What the hell is going on here? _She wondered as she saw Glenn slowly following Maggie.

Half an hour later Andrea came back to Carol and Riley who were now hanging wet clothes to dry on a clothing line. ''Ok, got that over with.'' Andrea said as she sat down in a lawn chair.

''What did he say?'' Carol asked. ''Well, first he was complaining that there were no pictures in the book that I lend him,'' Andrea said and Riley chuckled, ''and then he said if I would shoot him again, I should - and I quote - 'best pray he's dead'.'' She said to the others and rolled her eyes. ''Yeah that surely sounds like him.'' Riley said and the other two women laughed.

* * *

_**A/N: So, a brand new chapter! I noticed a few more followers to this story, thanks for reading! And another big thank you to the people that took the time to leave me a review, I really appreciate it since it lets me know if the story is heading into the right direction. - Anyways, I hope you all liked this chapter, please leave me a review to tell me your thoughts about it, I would really appreciate it. :)**_


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter fourteen**

That afternoon, Riley was busy keeping Daryl company, making sure he wasn't leaving his tent.

''She came down the stairs to greet the detective, after making sure her visitor had properly hid himself in the attic. She could feel her heart beating in her chest as she was about to open the front door.'' She read out loud from the book she had in front of her, while laying down on her stomach, her bare feet dangling in the air.

''Shit, that book Andrea got me is boring!'' Daryl complained as he was lying on his side next to her, listening to the story. ''No it's not. She is giving the poor man a hiding place, he is being falsely accused, Daryl.'' Riley said while laying down the book as she looked him.

''She just wanna get banged.'' Daryl grumbled and Riley had to chuckle. ''Ok, you are sort of right about that.'' She replied while leaning on her elbows. ''How so?'' He asked, his curiosity peaked.

''When that detective goes away, she can't get to that attic fast enough. She just has her way with that man she hid there. Really, she just tears the clothes straight from his body and they have great hot steamy sex on the table. They're so roughly going at it that the table actually breaks in the end.'' She said with a straight face and Daryl raised his eyebrows in shock as he now clearly got the mental image in his head.

It went silent in the tent as Daryl was now picturing it. ''Shit! Your face!'' Riley suddenly laughed and hid her head in her hands. Daryl's eyes narrowed as he realized she was joking with him, yet again.

''Damn woman, you and your jokes, always messin' with me.'' He replied while smirking a little as he pinched her waist. ''Stop it!'' She said and laughed, rolling over on her back. ''Who's gonna make me?'' He asked as he leaned in closer to her face. Riley's playfulness was unknowingly rubbing off on him. ''I a-!'' She barely managed to reply before he kissed her.

Riley's arms immediately went around his neck to pull him closer to her as their tongues were roaming around each other. God, she really loved kissing him. His fingers were brushing along her side, where the skin peeked out from underneath her top.

''Guys, dinner!'' Glenn suddenly called from outside Daryl's tent. ''Fuckin' shit!'' Daryl said in frustration as he pulled back from Riley. ''Or uh not..'' They heard Glenn mumble as he walked away.

''Daryl! He was just being nice.'' Riley chuckled as she looked at him, seeing him scowling. ''He ain't bein' nice,'' he grumbled,'' just being anno-'' she stopped him as she pinched his lips together between her thumb and index finger.

''You talk too much.'' She said with a grin on her face as he glared at her, but before he could reply, she already had pulled him towards her lips again. Daryl closed his eyes, already losing his trail of thoughts as he felt her lips on his. She was pretty good at distracting him. She pulled back after several moments, giving him a kiss on his nose before getting up from the sleeping bag.

He looked at her as she was putting on her boots. Ever since she had confessed to him that those condoms she had were not for Glenn, it got his curiosity peaked. That she was so bluntly honest about it was really something he needed to get used to.

Though he certainly wouldn't mind the occasional romping around in the sack with her, he knew she wanted more. Everything about her just radiated that she wanted more. She was the type of woman that was definitely in it for the long run. Though the thought still scared him somewhat, never experiencing anything like this before - she could be very persuasive.

Riley carefully helped him up from his sleeping bag and they walked out of his tent. She would match with his slow pace so he would not stretch any of his stitches. After she helped him sit down in a chair, she walked over to Carol to get their dinner.

Daryl felt all eyes on him as he sat there, purposely staring at his shoes while his jaw was tense. He knew that Riley helping him around and being in his tent the entire time was probably getting suspicions up but frankly, he didn't give a shit. His near dead experience surely made him change his priorities. These people around here could think all they want.

As everyone was eating and having their own conversations, Riley noticed that Glenn was being a bit nervous. She could see it in his whole behavior as he was eating, looking around every now and then before looking back at his plate.

''Glenn, are you alright?'' Riley whispered to him so the others wouldn't notice. ''What? Oh uh yeah, I'm fine.'' He quickly replied and took another bite of his food. ''You don't look fine.'' She said in concern. ''Look, I don't want to talk about it right now, Riles.'' He said as he looked at her. ''It's been a long day, I'm tired.. just let me eat.'' He said.

''Ok.. sorry.'' Riley said as she frowned and looked away. Glenn sighed as he looked at her. He knew she was just worried about him, but he couldn't tell her what he was so concerned about. It would be too much of a burden on her shoulders, heck - he was already freaking out by it himself.

After dinner was finished, Riley busied herself with washing the dishes alongside Carol. Riley had to smile as she saw that Carl actually had to courage now to sit beside Daryl and ask him some questions, probably either having to do with hunting or shooting.

''That man sure has come a long way, hasn't he?'' She suddenly heard Carol say and Riley saw her nudging her head in Daryl's direction. Riley nodded and smiled, ''he sure has.'' She replied.

Suddenly, in the corner of her eye she saw Shane and Andrea walk off, seeming to be in a very big discussion with each other - which made her frown. Since when did they even hang around each other?

''So, then ya stick the knife in its head with enough force, and then it's dead.'' Daryl heard Riley say to Carl as she walked over to the two after she was done cleaning the dishes. ''Wow!'' Carl said in admiration. ''What are you teaching him?'' Riley asked Daryl who now looked at her. ''Killing walkers with a knife.'' He told her and she shook her head. ''Daryl, I don't think his mom would like you telling him such things.'' She said in a hushed voice, making him roll his eyes.

''Whatever, she ain't here.'' He grumbled. ''I won't say anything, Riley!'' Carl quickly said as he jumped up. ''Just like those cookies, she doesn't know that either!'' He added and grinned. ''What cookies?'' They suddenly head Lori's voice chip in making Carl freeze. ''Nothing mom, just a joke!'' He quickly replied as he ran off, leaving a confused Lori behind.

''What was that all about?'' She asked Riley who shook her head. ''Just a silly joke, it's nothing.'' Lori frowned but nodded and walked off.

''Shit, you just lied straight through your teeth.'' Daryl said and he lightly chuckled as she glared at him. ''Whatever, it was just a box of cookies, would be a different story if I would have given him your cigarettes.'' She told him as she helped him up from his seat.

''Fuck, what I wouldn't give to see the look on the face of that stiff-ass woman when she sees her precious boy smoke a cig.'' He said as they slowly began to walk back to his tent. ''No way, I would be killed at the spot,'' she replied and he smirked.

''You know what really would have cracked you up?'' She asked him and he looked at her in question. ''Her face if she had seen him with a packet of Trojans.'' She whispered and he suddenly broke out in laughter.

''Fuck!'' He laughed, clutching his side. ''The woman would blow a fit!'' He exclaimed and she now had to laugh along with him. It was the first time she had actually heard him laugh. She was determined to hear that sound more often.

''Shit Daryl, take it easy.'' She quickly scolded as they reached his tent, seeing a few camp members giving them curious glances due to the noise Daryl was making. ''You're the one with jokes, fuck man.'' He said as she eased him down on his sleeping bag. ''Sorry.'' She said and chuckled.

He shook his head, his woman could surely crack a few jokes. He frowned when he caught himself thinking of her as his woman, wondering if he could even call her that now.

''Ok, I will be right back. Still have to do something,'' she told him, snapping him out of his thoughts. ''Go finish that book we were reading.'' The look of disgust on his face when she said that made her laugh.

''Damn thing got no pictures and it was shit-ass boring!'' He said out loud and she shook her head. ''Well, there are still some hot steamy scenes coming right up in the next chapter.'' She said to him which instantly made his ears perk at the news.

He looked at her in curiosity and she suddenly bend over laughing. He glared as she was making yet another joke. ''That shit ain't funny woman.'' He said and she barely dodged the pillow he threw at her with a mighty force.

''Ha! Missed me!'' She said with a look of satisfaction on her face and walked out of the tent leaving him on his own, sulking that he couldn't leave his tent. She grinned how she actually could joke around with him now. He was always so tense, she wanted him to loosen up.

As she walked out, she saw Rick just passing by and decided to ask him some questions since what Shane had told her earlier about Daryl had been nagging in the back of her head. ''Rick, can I talk to you for a sec?'' She asked as she walked up to him. ''Sure.'' He said and they walked away from the tents.

''I thought it would be better if I asked you this first instead of Daryl because Shane told me and they uh.. don't exactly get along very well.'' She said, stating the obvious and Rick nodded in agreement. He knew Shane's pride had been somewhat crushed since Riley didn't want him. The fact that he had lost her to Daryl, the infamous foul-mouthed redneck, was probably a kick in the gut.

''When you two carried Daryl to the farm, was he really wearing walkers' ears around his neck?'' She asked and Rick stopped walking. ''I told him not to say anything about that.'' Rick said in frustration. ''So, it's true?'' She asked.

Rick rubbed the back of his neck with his hand. ''Yeah, I think he was hallucinating or something, he was acting very strange. But he had been in the woods for a few days.'' He explained and Riley frowned.

''I don't know if you should ask him about it Riley, he might react very strongly.'' Rick said, trying to be polite about it. ''As in, blow a fit.'' She simply stated and he nodded. ''I don't know if it would do any good. Maybe he was just angry at the time.'' Rick said. Riley sighed, thinking about it.

''Just leave it for now, I don't think bringing this up would do you both any good.'' He advised her as he squeezed her shoulder. She thought about it, but eventually nodded, ''ok I won't mention it - don't want to get in an argument again.''

Rick nodded to her and walked away. Riley watched him go, but in the corner of her eye she saw Dale and Glenn talking in the distance. She noticed that Glenn was rather agitated about something while he listened to what Dale had to say. She frowned, something was definitely up with Glenn and she knew it was leaning heavily on his shoulders. She sighed and walked back to Daryl's tent. Glenn obviously didn't want to talk to her about it.

* * *

''You ok?'' Daryl asked her as she stepped into his tent, seeing a look of worry on her face. ''I have this feeling something is up with Glenn.'' She answered as she sat beside him. ''Maybe his girl dumped him.'' Daryl stated, flipping a page in the book he was reading. Riley rolled her eyes at his blunt reply, clearly he wasn't one to be easily concerned about the others like she was.

''I heard him having an argument with Maggie this morning and then saw her throwing something at Lori after they came back from their supply run. I overheard them talking that they went to the pharmacy. I don't get it, I just got back from a supply run with Glenn. If Lori needed something, she could have told me yesterday instead of making Glenn go for another run again today. It's not safe going to town all the time, she knows that.'' She rambled more to herself as she frowned.

Daryl looked away from his book and up to the worried woman sitting next to him. ''Shit woman, you worry too damn much, just leave it 'cause it ain't none of your concern. The only thing ya get from it is a fuckin' headache.'' He told her and she sighed. ''I guess.'' She answered and then stifled a yawn.

''Go to bed, you're fallin' asleep.'' He said and she nodded. She was about to get up from her place when Daryl spoke. ''Where ya goin'?'' He asked with a frown on his face. ''Uh, to bed?'' She said, stating the obvious.

He looked at the entrance of his tent, then back to her. ''You can stay here,'' he said and looked back at his book again, not making any eye contact. She raised her eyebrow as she looked at him and saw a faint blush on his cheeks as he was purposely staring in his book.

She decided not to mention it since he would probably kick her out of his tent if she called him on it, so she merely kicked off her boots. She wriggled herself out of her jeans and placed them in the corner of his tent. She pulled off her sports' bra underneath her top with a swift pull, sloppily folding it before laying it on top of her jeans.

She felt his eyes on her when she was doing all of that and couldn't help but smile. He had seen her in her in this state of dress a few times before, but the way she felt him staring at her made her aware that he was interested, that she was sure of. She fiddled with the hairpins on the top of her hair, pulling free her bangs. After she was done, she turned around and looked at him.

''You need help?'' She asked and he stared at her in confusion. ''You're still in your clothes.'' She said, stating the obvious as she pointed at him. ''Yeah, just.. doesn't matter.'' Daryl muttered, looking back at his book.

''Oh c'mon.'' Riley said, and before he knew it, she had planted herself on his legs, pulling the book from his hands.

Daryl frowned as she was unbuttoning his shirt, his stomach tensed a little as she neared it. God, the things this woman was doing to him, she got his body all hyper just by the simple movement of unbuttoning his shirt. The fact that she was only in a top and some panties was not helping at all since he now got a clear view of those long lightly tanned legs as she was straddling his own legs. His eyes unconsciously roamed over her body, stopping at her chest. _She ain't even wearing a fuckin' bra now, _he thought - quickly looking away before it got too much for him to handle.

''How are you feeling?'' She asked as she eyed the bandage that covered his waist. ''Fine.'' He curtly replied, not being able to voice anything else right now because she was practically leaning over him. She scooted lower to reach his jeans, unbuckling his belt before opening the buttons of his jeans.

Daryl was staring at the ceiling of his tent, counting to a hundred as he was chewing the inside of his cheek. The position they were in got his mind going and he surely didn't want her to find out. The urge to throw her on her back and have his way with her was pretty intense, and his jaw tensed.

Riley felt his body tensing up. She really just wanted him to feel comfortable around her and tried to think of a way to get his mind off of whatever he was thinking to cause this effect on him. Unbeknownst to her though, the physical contact was not the thing that was tensing him up, but the fact that he wanted to have her laying underneath him so badly right now.

She took off his shoes, laying them next to his sleeping bag before she pulled off his jeans in one swift pull. ''Ta-da!'' She said out loud, snapping him out of his thoughts. He looked down at the woman near his feet, seeing a smile on her face as she held up his jeans in her hands. ''Just like I'm unwrapping a very nice present.'' She said with a wink and he looked away again, with a clear blush on his face.

He still couldn't really handle those direct flirtations, but her comment did manage for him to focus on something else than the sexual tension he was feeling. She chuckled to herself and quickly helped him out of his shirt.

She neatly folded his clothes and placed them next to her own. As she slipped underneath the covers, Daryl had already conveniently placed his arm to his side for her to lie on while he had taken a hold of his book again.

''You know, I could get used to this,'' she whispered as she scooted closer to lay her head on his bare chest. He only grunted in reply while he was actually thinking the exact same thing. His hand found its familiar spot underneath her top, brushing his fingers along her bare back.

She let out a deep breath, tangling her feet with his. All the time he was so nice and warm. ''Shit woman, your feet are cold,'' he complained as her feet were now laying in between his. ''Good thing yours are warm then.'' She replied while grinning against his skin.

''I ain't no fuckin' personal heater,'' he grumbled and she chuckled. ''Nah, you're more like my personal fire, toasty warm,'' she teased and pushed herself into his side some more, placing a kiss on the side of his neck as she wriggled her toes against the side of his foot. He rolled his eyes at her behavior while having a small smirk on his face. She was being more comfortable around him, which made him do so in return as well.

As they were laying there, she was listening to his heartbeat, tracing the outer lines of the tattoo on his chest with her index finger while he was twirling a stray of her hair between his fingertips. If he was honest with himself, he felt completely content. He'd never experienced such moments with a woman before but to now be realizing what he had been missing out on for so long, made him swear to himself that he would do the best he could to keep Riley in his life.

''Goodnight.'' He heard her whisper, pulling him out of his thoughts. He gave her arm a soft squeeze in reply.

After reading for an hour or so, Daryl's eyes began to droop. He placed away his book and looked at the woman who was laying on his shoulder, fast asleep. It wasn't even that late, however, she fell asleep in a matter of minutes. He knew she probably hadn't been getting much sleep last night, and doing chores around the farm had probably taken its toll on her. He frowned as all these thoughts were entering his mind, realizing that he was worried about her.

He switched off the small lantern next to him and pulled the sleeping bag closer around them. Riley unconsciously pulled herself closer to him as she mumbled something he couldn't understand. He wrapped his other arm around her and closed his eyes, falling asleep in no time.

* * *

That morning, Riley was the first to wake up since she had fallen asleep rather early the day before. She did have a very good night of sleep now though. After she stretched her legs a little, she suddenly heard whispers near the tent.

''You think she's in there?'' She heard Andrea whisper. ''Well, she isn't in her tent, that's for sure.'' She heard T-Dog reply and followed by a few chuckles. ''At least some of us are getting lucky.'' She heard Andrea reply as the pair walked off.

She rolled her eyes and held back a chuckle. These people sure liked to gossip, no wonder Daryl preferred to stay in the background. She was pulled out of her thoughts when Daryl let out a deep breath and pulled her closer in his arms. She had to smile, Daryl sure was cuddly in bed.

They were exploring new grounds though, Daryl didn't seem the type to be so affectionate, but he sure was underneath the tuff exterior he always managed to pull off when they weren't alone. She knew she was feeling more and more for him every single time they were together. When he had been gone from camp to go look for Sophia, she had missed him so much that she was barely able to sleep at night.

She bit her lip when she thought back at those moments. She knew it was probably best to not mention it to him at all since she had no idea what his exact feelings for her were. It would be too soon, too fast and perhaps too unfamiliar for him. The last thing she wanted to do was to push him away by the mention of feelings or emotions, things she knew were probably foreign to him. He had already told her that he needed to get used to whatever they were sharing with each other.

She placed a kiss on his bare chest and then a few more, slowly moving upwards. She felt that he was slowly starting to wake up and she moved her lips from his chest to his jaw. His hand slowly trailed underneath her top, his fingertips brushing along her bare back. He placed his other hand on the back of her neck and slowly pulled her in for a kiss. Shit, he could get used to waking up like this every morning.

When their lips left each other, he noticed that she had this look on her face he wasn't familiar with, which got his thoughts running. ''Wha?'' He asked, his voice still somewhat thick from his sleep. ''Nothing.'' She replied and kissed him quickly on his lips to stop him from asking further.

As Riley had dressed again, she left Daryl alone to get out of bed in his own time instead of trying to help him again.

''Good morning, Carol!'' She smiled as she came up to the older woman. ''Morning Riley, did you sleep well?'' She asked and Riley nodded. _I slept great actually, _she thought to herself, still recalling the feeling of safety and warmth she had been feeling while laying in Daryl's arms. She didn't know if Carol knew she had been sleeping in Daryl's tent, but Carol seemed to be smart enough not to mention anything out loud if she knew.

''Today, it's scrambled eggs.'' She said as she was filling up plates. ''Great, I love eggs.'' Riley said as she helped to pass everyone their food. In the distance she saw Daryl slowly getting out of his tent on his own and she decided it was better to let him be, or else he would probably be grumping at her again.

She gave him his plate when he reached her before starting on her own meal. She had to smile when she saw that Carol gave him another round of eggs when he was finished with his first plate. ''He needs to get his strength back.'' Carol mouthed to her and she nodded in agreement.

As Riley was watching Andrea sharpening her knife, she noticed in the corner of her eye that Glenn was nervously looking around. She knew something was up the minute she saw the look on his face, making her frown. Suddenly he stood up and walked closer to where Rick was sitting.

''So uh guys?'' He started. Everyone looked at him now wondering what was going on. Glenn nervously kicked some dirt away with his foot. ''The barn's full of walkers.'' He said. Everyone's eyes went wide. _No way._

A few moments later, everyone was standing near the barn as Shane was peeking through a hole in the door of the barn. ''Shit, he's right.'' Shane stated.

''You can't tell me you're ok with this.'' He said to Rick. ''I'm not but we're guests here. We can't just barge through that door and kill everything inside. We don't even know why they are in there.'' Rick said to him.

Shane sighed in frustration. ''Well it's either that or we have to go. We have been talking about Fort Benning for a while so we ca-.'' Shane started. ''We can't go.'' Rick cut him off. ''Why the hell not? You want to stay here with a bunch of walkers as your fuckin' neighbors?'' Shane spat.

''My daughter is still out there.'' Carol said with a frown, which made Shane groan in frustration. ''Ok, let's all just be real on this, the girl has been gone for such a long time. We have no idea if she is still alive. We have to think about the fa-'' Shane started but Rick shook his head. ''We're not leaving her behind, Shane.'' He said making Shane scoff.

''We are fuckin' close to finding that girl. I just found her doll man!'' Daryl quickly piped up. Shane then got in his face. ''That's it, you found a DOLL! Not a live girl! But shit, she wouldn't even come near you if she saw you coming towards her with all those fuckin' ears around your neck! Heck she would fuckin' run in the other direction!'' Shane snapped at him.

Riley glared at Shane when he said that. She knew he was just waiting for the moment to let everyone know about the necklace.

Daryl quickly had enough of the shit Shane was throwing at him. His anger rose because Shane just told everyone about the necklace, making him feel embarrassed. And if there was one thing that Daryl didn't like feeling, it was embarrassment. He had been fucking hallucinating at the time, so furious with everything that he just did the first thing that popped into his mind to let his aggression out and that was to cut those motherfuckers up.

The fact that Shane told the group was one thing, but the fact that he said it in front of Riley was taking it too far. He didn't want her to think he was a disturbed redneck and make her recoil from him. If anyone should have told her about it, it had to fucking come from his own mouth, not Shane's.

''You best watch you fuckin' mouth you asshole!'' Daryl shouted, and before Riley realized it, he walked pass her and was about to charge Shane. Rick saw it coming and pushed Daryl back. ''Stop it!'' Rick said. Riley quickly pulled Carl back since Lori went over to Shane to stop him from charging Daryl. Even though Daryl was still injured, he could easily ignore his pain and charge Shane.

As Riley held onto Carl's hand, she noticed that Shane seemed to recoil from Lori's touch as she pushed him back from Daryl. ''You best keep your hands off of me.'' He said as he narrowed his eyes at the woman, before stepping back from her. _Ok, what is that all about? _She wondered.

''Just let me talk to Hershel, we just have to figure something out.'' Rick said as he brushed his hand through his hair in frustration. ''What in the FUCK is there to figure out! There are walkers in that barn that need to be killed! We can't just leave those geeks in there! What if they are actually able to come out huh, can't figure shit out then Rick!'' Shane shouted. ''Lower your voice will you!'' Lori scolded at Shane who just scoffed and looked away.

''We can't just go in there, it's his land. I need to talk to Hershel about it first.'' Rick replied.

''Hershel thinks they are just sick people. He has some family members in there.'' Dale suddenly said and Rick frowned. ''You knew about this?'' He asked the older man. ''I talked to him about it yesterday.'' He explained. ''Oh, and you didn't bother to share that little detail with us!' Shane accused. ''I thought we could survive another night, and we did. I was going to tell you this morning but Glenn wanted to say it.'' Dale replied.

''Hershel is fuckin' crazy if he thinks those things are alive!'' Shane shouted in frustration. ''Ok! Calm done! Let me talk to Hershel first and try to sort this out.'' Rick finally said, frustrated with this whole ordeal but Shane's anger was not helping at all.

They all stopped arguing, but with that silence they suddenly heard a lot of growling sounds coming from within the barn. Riley actually took a step back from the barn, pulling Carl along with her, due to the amount of sounds that were coming from behind the wood.

''Oh my god, how many are even in there?'' Lori said with fear in her voice. She looked at her husband who looked very concerned. He needed to be able to fix this, they were all in danger.

''Do you think they are able to come out of there, Riley?'' Riley heard Carl ask her in fear. ''No Carl, that barn is closed up shut. They can't come out.'' Riley tried to reassure the boy; even though she was pretty scared herself that those things would come crawling out. Something really needed to be done with this situation.

* * *

''Fuck this shit.'' Daryl grumbled as he and Riley were walking side by side as everyone was going back to camp. ''This is insane, Maggie never told me about this,'' Riley said as she looked at the man beside her, ''what do you think we should do?''

Daryl shrugged, ''just wait till Rick comes back from his talk with Hershel.'' Riley nodded. _This day is getting crazier by the minute, _she thought.

Daryl stayed silent as they walked back to his tent. As they sat down on his sleeping bag together, Riley knew just by looking at his face that he had something on his mind.

''What is it?'' Daryl heard her ask out of the blue and he looked at her. ''What?'' He asked in confusion. ''You have something on your mind that you're not telling me.'' She said and his jaw tensed. _How in the fuck does she always seem to figure that out! _He thought to himself.

''It's nothin'.'' He said and he took an arrow in his hand, looking to see if the tip was sharp enough. He heard her sigh next to him, but she didn't say anything. She lie down on her back and watched his shoulder blades move as he was sharpening his wooden arrow with his knife. She knew that if he really didn't want to talk about it, he would stay silent. However, if it was something that he actually wanted to share with her, but didn't know how to, she knew she just had to wait for him to come up with the right words and tell her.

After ten minutes, Daryl finally gave up. ''What Shane said.'' He started. ''Hmm?'' He heard her reply. ''At the barn, 'bout those ears.'' He muttered. Riley frowned as she bit her lip. She already knew about it, but she didn't know if she should tell him that. Rick already told her to leave it be, but now Daryl was the one bringing up the subject - not her.

She sighed and sat up again. ''I already knew.'' She said and he looked at her in confusion. ''What? You weren't even here when I came back to camp.''

''Shane he.. already told me earlier.'' Riley mentioned and Daryl's jaw tensed. ''I'm gonna beat that motherfucker to pulp.'' He grumbled angrily as he tightened his hand around the arrow he was holding. It was like Shane was deliberately trying to build a wedge between him and Riley and it was pissing him off.

''Just ignore it Daryl, he's just frustrated.'' Riley told him. She really didn't want those two in another fight, especially since she would be the cause of it.

''I ain't some fucked up disturbed redneck that wo-.'' He started but she cut him off. ''I know you're not.'' She replied and lay her hand on his shoulder. The tension he was feeling was slowly leaving his body at her touch. ''I was just fuckin' angry; one of those motherfuckers was nearly chewing off my foot as I lay there barely conscious.'' He explained and she nodded in understanding. Daryl could have a short fuse if he was being pushed, clearly those walkers did just that.

''Fuckin' shook me up when I saw that geek gnawing on my shoe when I woke up. Merle was already givin' me shit, it just pissed me off tha-..'' he started but Riley cut him off. ''Merle?'' She said and Daryl froze. He forgot that nobody actually knew that part of his so called trip.

''Nothin', was just something messing with my head.'' He muttered, making her frown. They never really talked about his brother. What he just said, made it pretty clear that Merle had been taunting him in his mind. He stayed silent after that and she looked at him.

''You know.. if you ever want to talk about it - you can.'' She said, making him frown. His family, his past - those were things that she didn't know about, but he was wary of actually telling her more than the little she already knew.

Since he stayed silent, Riley realized that she should drop the subject, he was clearly not ready for it. Daryl was surprised when she suddenly leaned in and placed a kiss on his bicep. ''Whenever you want.'' She said and lay back down again. After a few seconds, she saw him picking up another arrow to check, letting her know without words that the subject would not be discussed.

_Hopefully you will able to tell me one time, _she thought to herself.

* * *

**_A/N: I hope you liked this chapter. As you might have noticed, we're now moving forwards in the storyline of the show. I tried to change a little of the dialogue between everyone when writing certain scenes from the show. I thought it would be nicer to give you something else to read or else you would just be re-reading the script of the show. :p I hope it was alright? :/ - Anyways, I noticed a few more followers and even people favoring my story, thank you! And another big THANK YOU to the people that left me a review, I really appreciate it! I hope to read a few more next time, so I know the story is heading into the right direction.. ;) Thanks for reading! :)_**


	15. Chapter 15

**_1. A/N: Hey everyone, if you're into Daryl/OC stories, you should check out Jaylee8301's story ''Another Kind of Tomb''. Great story that keeps you wanting to read more! :)_**

* * *

**Chapter fifteen**

While Rick was away to talk with Hershel about the walkers in the barn, everyone else was left sitting somewhat tense back at camp. As Riley was hanging up some wet clothes to dry on a clothing line, she saw on Shane's face how frustrated he was with the whole matter as he was pacing around near the barn. In a way she knew he was right, that barn full of walkers was a threat. Just letting them roam around so close to camp gave her a very eerie feeling. However, going up and leave would not be an option though. This place was starting to feel more like home and the majority of the group was set on the fact that they should stay back for Sophia.

Riley frowned as she thought about it. The little girl had been gone for weeks, and she knew that deep down in her heart the child was probably dead. Nobody could survive on their own out there, especially a twelve year old girl. When she thought back at the time before Daryl had found her, her life had been so hard. The constant running, hiding, killing, screaming, it was insane. If she was already having such a difficult time surviving while being with a few people, how would Sophia manage on her own?

Riley had never expressed these thoughts out loud though, knowing how nearly everyone felt about it, especially Carol but also Daryl. He was dead set on finding the girl; she knew it would become a big argument between them if she ever told him about her concerns. She had already seen Daryl's reaction to Shane when he said it; he had burst out in anger.

In the distance she saw Daryl walking off into the direction of the stables, making her frown at what he was doing. He was still injured so he wouldn't go anywhere she figured. She decided to leave him be, but in the corner of her eye she saw Carol following him. _Ok, what's up with that? _She wondered.

Shaking her head, she went over to Lori and Carl to keep them company after she was done with doing the laundry. The boy was shook up; she could see the worry flashing in Lori's eyes as they looked at each other. _How is Rick going to fix this?_

After being busy with a puzzle Carl had borrowed from Beth, Riley looked up from the table as she saw Daryl storming out of the stables and into the woods. A few minutes later she saw a tear stained Carol coming back to camp. Riley immediately stood up and walked over to the older woman.

''Carol? Are you alright?'' Riley asked in concern when she reached Carol. ''Daryl and I.. just.. had a little disagreement.'' Carol softly said as she stared at the ground. Riley frowned, ''what happened?'' Carol looked up and Riley saw the sadness in her eyes.

''He was about to go search for Sophia again on a horse, but I saw that he was barely able to lift the saddle.'' Carol explained. ''Well, you're right - he knows he shouldn't be lifting things nor going out in the woods alone.'' Riley agreed while she frowned. _What in the hell was he thinking? _She thought.

''Well, you know Daryl.'' Carol said and gave her a sad smile. ''I told him that I didn't know if we would find Sophia,'' Carol suddenly said, ''I just.. I don't want to lose him too.''

Riley pulled the woman in a hug as she began to cry. ''He was so upset.'' Carol softly said in between tears. ''It's ok Carol, it will be alright.'' Riley soothed. She knew that besides her, Carol was one of the few people that really cared about Daryl.

''I want to believe that she's still alive, but I'm slowly beginning to lose hope.'' Carol confessed. Riley closed her eyes as she heard the heart breaking words the woman was saying and just held her tighter in her arms.

After a few moments, Riley took Carol to Lori and Carl, trying to finish the complicated puzzle in order to get Carol to think of something else for the moment. Lori had sensed that something was wrong with Carol but the look on Riley's face told her she should let it be for now.

An hour later, Riley saw Daryl coming out of the woods again, probably have calmed down enough to actually return. She marched straight up to his tent in order to have a word with him. As she opened the flap of the tent, Daryl looked sideways over his shoulder and quickly looked back to the arrow he was cleaning.

''Go away.'' He grumbled, like he knew what was coming. Riley however, was not so easily fazed by his grunts and demands and just walked over to him. ''So, you made Carol cry?'' She stated as she sat behind him. ''What?! I can't help the fact she's fuckin' weak and cries all the time!'' He snapped at her.

''Daryl! Don't you dare say that!'' Riley said, shocked by his sudden outburst. He took a breath and placed away his arrow, turning around to face her. ''Daryl, you need to understand that Carol tries to keep hope. But sometimes it's just hard if you have to do that for such a long time,'' she explained, ''and the fact that you were about to search for her daughter while you are still injured is not helping her either.''

Daryl frowned at what she said. ''Carol cares about you, you're looking for her daughter nearly every single day. That means a lot to her. You can't be angry for the fact that she tries to stop you from doing something stupid.''

''It ain't stupid, I was gonna look for her girl!'' He snapped at her. ''You can, just not in this state.'' She replied, trying to remain calm. She knew he would blow a fit if she turned this into an argument. ''Just get better first ok?'' She asked and after a few seconds he finally nodded.

Suddenly she slapped him on his chest. ''Hey! What was that for?!'' He called out in surprise. ''That was for leaving, Carol was right! You can't just go and leave like that!'' She snapped at him making him roll his eyes.

''You get pissed at me for leaving on a supply run but when you just leave unannounced - with a freakin' injury for crying out loud - I'm suppose to say nothing?'' She asked him, raising her eyebrow. ''How do you think I would feel if I couldn't find you at camp? Not knowing that you were out there looking?''

Daryl frowned. It hadn't occurred to him that Riley would probably be worried about him, even though she had told him when he had gotten back from his accident. He still found it difficult to believe that she actually cared. Nobody had ever given a shit about what he was up to and where he was going.

''Shit, woman I didn't think about it - just needed to go out lookin','' he muttered awkwardly, ''I ain't good at this.''

He remembered having a panic fit when she had gone out in the woods alone with Shane as well as when he heard she went out on a supply run while he was away. _Guess that shit works both ways, _he thought to himself.

Riley shook her head knowing what he meant by it. She knew he was still learning that whatever they had between them was growing stronger - meaning that she would be worried about him if he went up and leave, a thing he never needed to think about.

''Next time, at least give me a heads up instead of disappearing on me.'' She told him. He slowly nodded and looked back at her. ''Guess I better go apologize to Carol or sumthin'..'' He muttered. ''Oh yeah you'd better,'' she agreed as she poked her finger against his chest while he rolled his eyes, ''you stubborn man.''

''I'm stubborn? Shit woman, you ain't so different either.'' He said and she smirked, leaning closer to his face. ''I guess that's why we match.'' She whispered seeing a faint blush appear on his cheeks. However, he quickly recovered and leaned in to kiss her on her lips. She cupped his face, and he urgently demanded access in her mouth with his tongue. She gasped as she felt their tongues roam around each other.

As he leaned in some more, the movement made him flinch back. The stinging feeling in his left side was still lingering. Riley had felt him tense up a little and pulled back, noticing the look on his face. He was in pain.

''Here, take these pills because you are still hurting even though you won't admit it.'' Riley said as she showed him two more painkillers that she took out of the front pocket of her jeans. ''I am not.'' He stubbornly told her but she just raised her eyebrow at him. He sighed in defeat, since she was actually right. Taking that heavy saddle in his arms earlier in the stables did not do his injuries any good.

''How many pills do you even have on you woman? Got a goddamn pharmacy in your pockets.'' He grumbled as he eventually took the pills from her hand while she rolled her eyes at him. ''I asked Hershel for some, so I could give you any if I noticed you were in pain. I knew you would be downplaying it.'' Riley told him as she handed him a bottle of water. He frowned at her. _Yes, I'm starting to get to know you better tuff guy, _she thought to herself.

After they got out of Daryl's tent, he walked straight over to Carol to have a little walk with him.

''What's that all about?'' Lori asked Riley as she sat next to Carl who was eating a sandwich. ''Oh, they just had a little argument.'' Riley said, making Lori smile.

''What?'' Riley wondered as she saw Lori's knowing smile. ''You sure are having a good influence on him.'' Lori said, knowing that the young woman had something to do with the fact that Daryl had called Carol over. ''I guess.'' Riley said as she blushed.

''Are you and Daryl boyfriend and girlfriend now?'' Carl suddenly asked her. ''Uh.. I don't really know Carl.'' Riley answered as she had to smile a little at how juvenile it sounded. ''I think you are, Daryl is always looking at you when he thinks nobody sees.'' Carl said and grinned at her, making Lori chuckle and Riley flush.

''Well, he better be good to you - or else I will ask my dad to arrest him.'' Carl said and both women had to laugh now. Riley knew the boy was very protective of her, but Daryl had been undergoing small changes. Even towards Carl, so perhaps it was changing the way the boy thought about the hunter.

''Well, don't tell him that Carl - or else he will fear even going near Riley.'' Lori said, hinting to the boy to be quiet about what he was thinking about Riley and Daryl. She knew the man wouldn't be very appreciative of the fact that nearly the whole camp was aware of the two's relationship, if not already everyone.

* * *

A while later, Riley was sitting on the stairs of the porch of the house with Maggie and Glenn, while Beth and Carl were playing a board game behind them. Meanwhile, Lori and Patricia were inside the house, making lunch for everyone.

''I hope Rick can come to some sort of agreement with your dad Maggs, it would be so horrible if we would have to leave.'' Riley told her friend who frowned.

''I know, I don't want that to happen either.'' Maggie replied as she casted down her eyes. Glenn and Riley, they had special places in her heart. She didn't know what she would do if her dad forced them all to leave.

Suddenly T-Dog and Andrea walked up to them. ''Has anyone seen Rick? We were supposed to leave to go search for Sophia.'' Andrea said, making the others look in confusion. ''He still hasn't come back yet from his talk with Hershel.'' Glenn explained. Andrea and T-Dog looked at each other with a frown on their face. What was taking Rick so long?

Riley looked off to the side, seeing Carol and Daryl appear from their walk. However, Shane suddenly came walking up as well holding a rather large bag. ''What is he doing?'' Riley wondered out loud, making everyone look in Shane's direction. As Riley saw Shane handing Daryl a gun, she immediately knew what Shane's plans were; he was going to the barn.

''Can you shoot?'' Shane asked Maggie as he had given Glenn a gun. ''Can you stop!'' Maggie snapped back at him, ''you know that my dad will make you leave the farm if you go in there!''

Riley noticed that Lori and Patricia stepped out on the porch with a worried look on their faces, probably having overheard the argument between Maggie and Shane. Even Dale had come over as he had been seeing the heated discussion from his spot at the caravan.

Shane ignored Maggie's comment, stepping up to Riley who looked up at him. ''We need to protect this group Riley, you know it.'' He said, as he rummaged through his bag and pulled out a gun. Riley looked over at Daryl, who give her a quick nod of approval. She frowned, looking back at Maggie who was in distress. She sighed and took the gun from Shane.

''Carl, you need to protect the farm as well, don't you?'' Shane said as he was about to give Carl a gun as well. ''Shane! Don't you dare!'' Lori snapped at Shane, who glared at her. ''The boy ne-..'' Shane started but was cut off by T-Dog.

''Oh shit!'' He called out, making the group look in his direction, seeing in the distance that Rick, Hershel and Jimmy were guiding two walkers to the barn. ''What the FUCK is he doing!'' Shane said in frustration, turning on his heel to run over in Rick's direction, the whole group running after him.

''What the hell is going on here!?'' Shane now yelled out loud as he reached Rick, ''what in the fuck are you doing?!''

''Shane calm down, we just need to take the-.'' Rick started but Shane was having none of it as he walked over to Hershel. ''If you think these things are alive you are crazy!'' He yelled at the older man.

''Look at it!'' Shane said and shot the walker Hershel held on a pole in its chest, but it kept on coming at him. ''Why is it still coming!? I'm shooting at it but it's still coming!'' Shane said sarcastically, while firing at the walker again.

''Shane stop it!'' Rick shouted as he held onto the other walker they had brought back from the woods. However, he didn't notice that he had somewhat loosen his grip on the pole in his hands, giving the walker more room to move around.

Riley who was standing near him was too fixed on Shane to even see that the walker was slowly making its way towards her. She was suddenly snapped out of her trance as Daryl grabbed her arm, pulling her away from the walker and against his body. The feeling of shielding her from danger was surging through him and he wasn't about to let the woman get killed by these stupid geeks on those fucking poles, groaning as if they were mere pets just wanting food.

''No life person would do that! It's still coming, because it's fucking dead!'' Shane yelled out loud, before shooting the walker in its head. The walker dropped to the ground and everyone was standing there, not knowing what to do.

''If you wanna live, if you wanna survive - you gotta fight for it! Right here, right fuckin' NOW!'' Shane yelled at them before he ran over to the door of the barn, trying to get off the big locks with a nearby axe.

''Shane stop it! Knock it off! Don't do it!'' Rick yelled out loud, but Shane was having none of it and slammed off the lock.

The door opened and Shane stepped back, drawing his weapon. Riley felt Daryl moving away from her side, walking towards the barn as well, along with Andrea and T-Dog. She quickly made her decision, running up to stand next to Daryl.

After a few seconds, the first few walkers appeared and Riley nervously swallowed. She was surprised by the amount of walkers that seemed to have been hauled up together.

They shot them down, one by one. Riley faintly heard some people crying behind her, knowing that they were probably also shooting down members of the Greene family.

As Daryl had fired the last shot, killing the final walker that came out of the barn, it was eerie quiet. Shane looked back at Rick, who just stared back, not saying anything. All of a sudden they heard a soft groan coming from the barn, everyone's eyes quickly reverted back into its direction.

Riley's eyes went wide when she saw a walker coming out, a small girl. She had never ever seen a child as a walker before. She was snapped out of her thoughts when she heard Carol's voice. ''Sophia!''

''Oh my god.'' Riley whispered as realization hit her when she saw the small girl slowly making her way over to the group. She looked at Daryl, seeing the clear look of shock on his face. She suddenly heard rapid footsteps coming up from behind her and in an instant Daryl had Carol in his arms, preventing her from running over to the tiny walker. Everyone stood frozen at the spot as they watched the small walker shuffle closer to them.

In the corner of her eyes Riley saw Rick slowly walking over to the small walker. Riley closed her eyes before she heard the gunshot ringing through the air. She heard a small thump and before she knew it, Carol's piercing scream was heard. This was it, the eerie feeling that she had been having all this time. The girl the group had been looking for was long dead.

* * *

A few hours later, they all stood near the graves of some of the Greene's fallen family members and little Sophia. The feeling of sadness was written on everyone's faces. Riley looked over to Daryl who was standing beside her, a hard look on his face. She knew he was angry that Carol would not come to Sophia's funeral after he left the older woman in the caravan a few moments earlier.

She slowly moved her hand to touch the small of his back trying to give him some sort of comfort without it being too obvious in front of the others. She felt him tense at first but he didn't pull away. She stared in front of her as some members of the group said a few words about the people they had lost.

As the funeral ended, Daryl walked off leaving Riley with Maggie. She watched him go, his shoulders tense. She had the urge to follow him but she knew he needed time alone. Instead, she hugged her friend, knowing she had lost dear family members.

When Riley was done helping along piling up the remaining corpses in the truck with Andrea and T-Dog, she decided to take a break from it all. This day was seriously loaded with a lot of grieve.

As she made her way over to the tents, she noticed that Daryl had moved his tent much further away. She frowned but quietly walked into his tent, closing the zipper behind her. She found him sitting there, cleaning yet another one of his arrows.

''Why did you move your tent?'' She asked as she sat down next to him. ''Because I don't wanna be 'round anyone right now.'' He merely said as he continued his work. ''Oh..'' She tried not to feel offended by it, knowing he was just angry but it did hurt that he would do such a thing. She was about to get up to give him the space she thought he was asking for, but Daryl's voice stopped her. ''Not you.'' He replied. She frowned but sat down again.

''How are you holding up?'' She asked and he shrugged. ''It's all fucked up. Thought I would find the girl.'' He mumbled. ''Now I just think shit, all that searchin' for goddamn nothin'.'' He spat, throwing the arrow he was cleaning on the floor in front of them.

''It wasn't for nothing, you really believed she was still alive - you did the best you could.'' She said. ''It was all in vain, everythin' I did.'' He mumbled. ''I'm sorry.'' She said, not knowing anything else to say to make him think otherwise. She knew he was probably the most convinced out of everyone that he would be able to find her.

Two hours later, Riley was still in Daryl's tent, lying beside him on his sleeping bag as they both had fallen asleep in each other's arms.

''Daryl, you in there?'' Riley suddenly heard Lori's voice call out. Riley slowly opened up her eyes, feeling a bit drowsy from her sleep. ''Daryl?'' She heard Lori say again. Riley cautiously sat up so she wouldn't wake Daryl, carefully placing his arm on his chest as it had been lying over her stomach. She crawled over to the entrance of the tent, zipping open its flap, seeing Lori standing there.

''Sorry, he's sleeping. What's wrong?'' Riley whispered. ''Beth has gone into some sort of shock. We tried to find Hershel but he was nowhere to be seen. Rick and Glenn have gone to town to look for him, but they still aren't back yet.'' Lori said as she crouched down in front of the entrance of the tent.

''I didn't know that, is Beth alright?'' Riley asked. ''We don't know, that's why we need Daryl to go into town and bring them back.'' Lori said. ''What? Lori, he's just been through a lot. His wounds have not even fully healed yet.'' Riley replied as she frowned. ''I know but we need them back, Riley.'' Lori said.

''I ain't goin'.'' Daryl suddenly said behind Riley. Both women looked at him now. ''What? Why not? We need them back.'' Lori told him as she was getting agitated.

''If ya want him back so badly, go find him yourself.'' Daryl replied. ''Are you serious? How can you be so selfish!'' Lori all of a sudden snapped at him.

''What! Him selfish!?'' Riley called out in shock before Daryl even could reply, ''he has been out there every day looking for Sophia, Lori you know that! He's the least selfish person of this entire group! And you want him to go while he's injured? I don't think so!'' Riley snapped in anger, leaving the man in question surprised by the fact that she just had defended him.

Lori merely glanced at the younger woman as if she hadn't spoken and then looked towards Daryl. ''Well, Daryl?'' Lori asked impatiently. ''I'm done lookin' for people.'' Daryl stated, clearly ending the conversation. Lori glared at Daryl and then towards Riley. ''I expected better from the two of you, especially you Riley.'' She accused before she stormed off.

''What the fuck!'' Riley said out loud surprised how Lori had suddenly acted. ''You nearly died while looking for Sophia and you are still recovering from you injury but she expects you to just run after her husband, who is a fuckin' grown ass man that can take care of himself?!'' She spat while still glaring in the direction Lori walked off to. Riley was unconsciously getting angrier and angrier.

''Especially from you Riley.'' She muttered in mockery. ''She doesn't even fuckin' know you to just be saying things like that. And she just went up to you, asking for your help?! Who does she think she is!'' Riley sneered at the fact how Lori just plain out insulted Daryl.

As Daryl remained silent, she looked back at him, seeing him just staring at her with this surprised look on his face. ''What?'' She asked him, still agitated by what Lori just said. Daryl shook his head, pulling himself away from his thoughts. It felt strange to have someone defending him, no one ever did. It did something inside of him though, seeing Riley getting all worked up about the fact that someone was bringing him down.

''Just leave it, olive oil can go fetch him herself.'' Daryl grumbled and lay back on his sleeping bag, pulling his arms underneath his head. Riley sighed and crawled over towards him, lying on her head on his arm. She sighed as she traced her finger over the top button of his shirt. ''Why do I have the feeling that everything in this group is going to shit now?'' Riley said as she looked at him. ''Cause it probably is.'' He replied.

* * *

That night everyone was gathering near the camping fire for dinner. However, both Lori and Daryl were not present. Riley knew that Daryl was still in his tent because he refused to leave. Yet, she had no idea where Lori was. She frowned as people around her were getting worried, wondering where the older brunette was.

''She isn't in her tent, nor in the house.'' Andrea said as she and Carol had gone to search for the Lori. ''Where in the fuck can she be?'' Shane said in frustration as he stood pacing in front of everyone.

''I think she might have gone looking for Rick.'' Riley suddenly told them. ''What?'' Shane said in surprise. ''Yeah, she asked Daryl earlier if he wanted to go look for them, but I didn't want him to go since he's still injured.'' Riley said, twisting the story a bit. She knew the minute she would say that Daryl told Lori to get Rick herself, it would cause some serious drama in camp. However, in a way, what she said was true, because she surely was not allowing Daryl to leave with an injury.

''Fuck, I'm gonna go find her.'' Shane said and walked away over to where the cars were parked, leaving the rest of the group to look at each other in confusion, especially Riley. She didn't understand why Shane reacted so fast to find Lori since he had been rather hostile towards the woman over the past few days.

Half an hour later, Riley made her way over to Daryl's tent with a plate of food in her hand since he had refused to attend dinner. She sort of felt guilty that she had snapped at Lori earlier and that the woman was now out on her own looking for Rick. She was just worried about her husband, however to be pushing Daryl to go was going too far in Riley's opinion. Especially since he was not fully healed from his injury yet.

Riley was acting on instinct to defend Daryl. She knew she would stand by him no matter what. Even though he was now distancing himself from the group, she refused to let him distance himself from her.

She entered his tent, seeing him making another arrow for his collection. ''Hey, I brought you some dinner.'' She said as she sat down next to him. He nodded and placed away his knife and arrow.

''Ok, first let me check your side.'' She said as she placed the plate of food next to her. He rolled her eyes but she raised her eyebrow at him, daring him to refuse. He sighed but pulled up his shirt. She carefully unwrapped the bandage from his waist and checked his side.

''It looks better, Hershel is pretty awesome at stitching people up.'' Riley told him as she leaned in closer to see the stitches more clearly. ''I don't even feel it anymore.'' He grumbled to her. ''That's because I gave you those painkillers earlier. Just let me check it every now and then, just for my peace of mind ok?'' She said to him and he rolled his eyes but nodded.

''Don't think you need these bandages anymore.'' She told him and rolled up the fabric, placing it beside his bag. He pulled down his shirt again and Riley gave him his dinner.

''Lori's gone.'' She suddenly said and he stopped chewing for a moment, before continuing. ''When I said that Lori might have gone looking for Rick, Shane couldn't seem to run off any faster to go look for her.'' Riley said with a frown on her face.

''Man's still got a thing for olive oil.'' Daryl grumbled and took another bite of his chicken. Riley's eyes widened. _Lori and Shane?_

''What? Still? They had something before? That is insane, no way. Why didn't you say anything? Does Rick even know?'' She asked him and Daryl merely stared at her with a blank look on his face as he heard her string of questions. She rolled her eyes. Even though the man was pretty observant and noticed things faster than others, him giving a shit about other's people's business only could happen when pigs would be able to fly.

After Daryl finished his dinner, Riley took his plate to wash up before she was going to go to bed. She was really tired from all the things that were going on at camp. She frowned as she noticed that Lori was already back, but was in an argument with Shane.

She walked over to Carol who was washing the dishes. ''What's going on?'' Riley asked the older woman. ''Lori is pregnant.'' Carol replied as she took Riley's plate from her hand. ''What? How is that even… oh my god.'' Riley said as Carol frowned. They knew that having a baby in this world full of flesh eating zombies, would put a heavy strain on the entire group.

''Knocked up.. shit.'' Daryl said to Riley as they were lying together in his sleeping bag while she had told him about Lori. ''Yeah I couldn't believe it either.'' Riley said.

''Makes ya wonder who the baby's daddy is.'' Daryl said and Riley's eyes widened. ''No way, do you think that it might.. you know, be Shane's child?'' Riley asked. ''Who knows,'' Daryl said, ''Shit a kid, in this world? That's insane.''

Riley knew he was right, bringing a child into this world was dangerous. She frowned as she thought about it. She had always dreamt of having a small family. She'd always pictured herself to have some house near the woods, a few kids running around with their family dog while her husband was chopping wood near the shed. She smirked at the thought. It made her wonder if Daryl ever pictured himself to be such a man.

''What'chu smiling for?'' Daryl suddenly asked as he has seen the look on her face, pulling her from her train of thoughts. ''Huh? Nothing, just some silly thought.'' Riley replied, moving closer to him by laying her head on his chest.

He frowned as she tried to avoid the subject. Between the two of them, she was always the one that freely spoke her mind. When he sensed she didn't do that, it made him anxious. ''Riley..'' He said in a way that made her sigh. ''I was just thinking how it would be like, you know? Having a family, kids.. I mean, I know I can't have that anymore but still..'' She muttered as she pressed herself deeper into his side.

He frowned but pulled her closer against him. He knew she was the type of woman that would want that, knowing she had a caring nature. The thought made him wonder that if there would ever be a walker-free world, whether they would ever start a fam-… no, he didn't finish that thought. He wasn't the type of man that deserved a family, even though in the back of his mind he'd always seemed to crave for it.

His own childhood was the thing that seemed to have fucked him up for life. Everything he was now, was the result of such an upbringing. He would never be a good dad, fearing that he would eventually turn into his own farther.

The thought however didn't stop him from seeing the images in his mind. Riley being pregnant with his child and a smile on her face as she looked at him in a way that no woman had ever looked at him before. She did that all the time, it was only him to be confused as to what it actually meant.

* * *

The next morning, Riley woke up by some loud voices near Daryl's tent. She slowly opened her eyes, hearing it was Rick along with Shane as they walked passed. Apparently Rick was back, which meant Glenn and Hershel would be back too.

She stretched out in Daryl's arms, who was still fast asleep behind her. Carefully turning around in order not to wake him, she looked at his face, liking to see the calmness on his features. After they had found Sophia dead, it had taken his toll on him. He had been different, but she was so grateful he wasn't pushing her away.

She knew she was in love with him, there was no denying that fact anymore. Everything about him just pulled her in, wanting to care for him, protect and love him because he deserved it, even though he probably might not think he did.

She was sort of wondering when it was alright to take the next step in their relationship. _Everyone already knows we're together, _she thought to herself.

She was doubting if he was still downplaying on his pain or not. She didn't want him to injure himself if he would.. if they would.. She bit her lip as certain thoughts were going through her mind. Just merely the thought of him holding her against him, hovering over her, all male, strong - touching her where she needed him the most, kissing her like he could do so well, made her blush.

She had thought about it, especially during those moments when she was laying in his arms just like this. It was hard not to, Daryl was just radiating manliness and she wanted to feel every single bit of it.

''You starin' at me again, aren't ya?'' Daryl suddenly said, pulling her straight from her daydream. He slowly opened his eyes, seeing her with a clear blush on her face as she smiled. ''Why are you so red in your face?'' He asked her, making her blush even more because she could not tell him what she just had been thinking about.

''You're just so warm.'' She said and scooted a bit lower to place her head against his chest. She bit her lip again because she was lying straight through her teeth. Yes, he was warm - but that was certainly not the reason why she was probably as red as a freaking tomato.

She felt his fingers play with the hem of her top. ''I'm glad we're ok.'' She suddenly said, making him frown. ''What'chu mean?'' He asked as now he trailed his hand underneath her top, his index finger making small circles against her skin.

''Just.. with everything that's going on at camp, you know?'' She replied.

He pulled back a little to look at her, seeing the uncertainty clearly written on her face. She managed a smile but inside she was still afraid that he would start to push her away as well, since he had not really been the same as he was before they found Sophia. He was still here, but also keeping his distance from the others.

''We're fine.'' He reassured her and leaned in for a kiss. She eagerly replied and gladly let his tongue demand access so their tongues could roam around each other. He rolled himself on top of her, kissing her along her neck. Her daydream quickly entered her mind again, and she gasped as he lightly sucked on her skin. As he pulled back after hearing that arousing sound, he saw that her face was flushed. He inwardly had to smirk knowing it was him that caused that.

''You want to have some breakfast with me?'' She suddenly asked, making him frown. ''Here?'' He said and she bit her lip. She knew this could either go good or bad. ''No, I mean outside?'' She carefully suggested.

He really didn't feel like going outside but the way she looked at him, made it harder for him to stick to that thought. He sighed and rolled off of her. However, she was having none of it and scooted closer to him. ''C'mon, I will even make you my special peanut butter and jelly sandwich?'' She suggested with a smile on her face.

He frowned, looking away since he really did not wanted to give in but her smile could actually do that - and she knew it. ''Bribin' ain't gonna work on me, woman.'' He grumbled, even though he liked those sandwiches she made. Riley chuckled and placed her hand on his cheek, making him look at her.

''Please?'' She pleaded. ''Please, please, please?'' She said in between placing kisses all over his face.

''Pleaasssee?'' She pressed, making her voice go higher so she sounded like a little girl that was whining, making it hard for him to keep a straight face. She inwardly had to chuckle because she was sounding like a two year old in front of him and noticed that he was fighting not to laugh. If she would have done this in the beginning, when they'd just met, he would have been mortified and hide in his tent for the next year.

''Ok fine.'' He finally gave in and she grinned, making him shake his head. What this woman could make him do. _Shiitt…, _he thought, knowing he was done for. She had him wrapped around her finger, but frankly, it didn't bother him one bit.

After they got dressed they got out of his tent. They saw everyone was standing near the farm house, arguing over something.

''Shit, I ain't in the mood for that.'' Daryl grumbled and he actually turned around, to walk back to his tent but he was held back when Riley grabbed his wrist with both of her hands. ''C'mon, we have to know what's going on.'' She said and his jaw tensed. He sighed and eventually gave in, following her over to the group.

''We need to get him out of here. It's dangerous.'' They heard Shane mention to Rick as they got closer. Daryl stopped walking when they were in hearing distance, making Riley look at him in confusion. ''Go on, I'm gonna smoke.'' Daryl said and got out a packet of cigarettes from his back pocket. Riley sighed but nodded and walked over to Glenn.

''Hey, when did you get back?'' Riley asked him. ''Yesterday night. Was some real trouble we got into there.'' Glenn replied as she frowned at him. ''We've saved this guy that got his leg impaled into a metal fence as he fell from a roof.'' He told her, making Riley look at him in shock.

''He almost got eaten if we would have left him there, but the group he was with was dangerous. So, we don't really know what to do with him.'' He said, making Riley frown. Someone from a dangerous group? That didn't sound good at all.

''Where is he now?'' Riley asked, a bit concerned to be having a potentially dangerous stranger nearby. ''We locked him up in the barn for now.'' He explained.

Riley looked over at Rick and Shane having a big argument about what to do with the guy they found. For whatever reason, the two of them were beginning to show cracks in their friendship. Riley had already noticed this after the events at the barn. Shane was beginning to grow more and more hot-headed as the days passed. She did now realize that it probably also had to do with Lori.

''Ok, fine.'' She suddenly heard Rick say to Shane and then he turned towards the group. ''Shane and I will be driving the kid about 18 miles further to drop him off somewhere.'' Rick explained, making Riley frown at the information. She didn't think it would be wise for those two to go together.

She looked back at Daryl, who had heard everything but decided not to get involved in the drama as he was smoking his cigarette. As the rest of the group began arguing yet again about the matter, Riley made her way over to him.

''You think that's such a good idea? Those two seem to getting more detached from each other, especially now with Lori.'' Riley told him in a hushed voice since they were still within hearing distance. Daryl shrugged his shoulders, ''if Rick says it's ok, guess we can't do anything.''

''I know, it's just.. what if something happens there?'' Riley told him in concern, making him frown at her. ''Rick should just wait until you're fully healed and let you go with him.'' Riley added. She knew that Daryl might had been a better choice to go with Rick instead of Shane. He was beginning to become a loose cannon.

Daryl shrugged his shoulders. ''Guess Shane's a better option.'' He replied, making Riley shake her head. ''No it's not, you're twice the man he is.'' She told him as she looked at the two men arguing in the distance unaware of the look of surprise Daryl gave her.

He looked at the group, and then back to Riley who was having this look of worry on her face. He knew that on the inside, she had a million of thoughts running. Since they'd spend so much time together, he was beginning to get to know her better as well. He realized that she tented to worry a lot about things and it wouldn't do her any good. Suddenly an idea popped into his mind as he thought about it.

''How about I teach how to use that crossbow I gave ya?'' Riley suddenly heard him say and she looked at him in surprise. ''You sure you're up for that?'' She asked him and he nodded. ''Yeah, my side ain't hurtin' no more, I can help ya out now.'' He replied. He really wanted to give her some distraction so she would get her mind off of the shit that was going on at camp.

She looked at him and he saw that she was doubting. ''You're really not in any pain anymore?'' She asked him and he groaned. ''C'mon woman, I ain't downplayin' shit - I'm fine. And that crossbow I gave ya is collectin' fuckin' dust in my tent.'' He argued.

''Ok, ok.'' She smiled. She really was up for some alone time with him. ''First some breakfast ok? Can't do anything on an empty stomach,'' she told him. ''Yeah, I do recall you promisin' me those sandwiches woman, ya better not be backin' out on a promise.'' He told her as they walked away from the others. ''No, I wouldn't dare.'' She replied and smiled.

He smirked at her and she faintly blushed, looking away. _God I love this man, _she thought.

* * *

_**2. A/N: WOW, this chapter took me forever to write! I was planning on posting it yesterday but I was really NOT happy with it. Therefore, I did a LOAD of adding, deleting, changing etc. I was having such a difficult time with writing a gradual transfer from Sophia's death to the introduction of Randall, without actually rushing it. But yeah, I really hope it turned out ok.. :/**_

_**I promise that the NEXT CHAPTER will be up very soon since it's nearly done but I am still editing it lol. I can't post anything until it's perfect in my opinion, so that takes time haha. But I promise that you're DEFINITELY going to like it. ;)**_

_**Anyways, I noticed that I've gotten a few more followers and people favoring this story, thank you! :) It's still such a strange thought that people all over the world are actually reading something I'm creating.**_

_**I also wanted to give a big THANK YOU to the people that are leaving me reviews, it's great to hear what you think. I really like reading them - thanks so much!**_


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter sixteen**

Half an hour later after Riley and Daryl had eaten some breakfast, the two of them were walking through the woods, both now with crossbows strapped behind their backs. Riley was walking a bit behind Daryl, quietly following him through the woods as he was leading the way. It was getting warmer throughout the day, and now being in the woods was not really helping with her feeling the humidity.

She watched Daryl, seeing he was sweating a little due to the heat, his arms glistering a bit in the sun that was peeking through the trees. Riley was thankful that she had chosen to put on a sleeveless top instead of a shirt because she was already feeling warm due to the heat. However, seeing Daryl like that sure wasn't helping her feel any cooler either. She bit her lip as she watched him.

Being in her daydream, she hadn't noticed he had stopped until she walked right into him. ''Ups,'' she said as she quickly took a step back. He turned around to face her, giving her a confused look as she just had walked straight into his back. ''Sorry,'' she said and she faintly blushed as she looked away. She didn't know what happened to make her unaware of her own surroundings. She blamed it on the heat - _yes, definitely the heat_, she thought to herself.

Daryl shook his head, thinking that she just had a lot on her mind. ''Here's good, let's practice on a tree first before we move on to moving targets.'' Daryl told her and she nodded. Riley took her crossbow from her back and stared at it. _How in the hell do I even load this thing? _She wondered.

Daryl held back at chuckle at the confused look on her face and took the weapon from her hands. He loaded her crossbow with an arrow he got from the bag full of arrows that he had slung over his shoulder earlier, and gave her the loaded weapon. He walked over to stand behind her, flicking her thick long braid over her left shoulder so he could press himself against her back without restricting her ability to move her head.

''Ok, arms like this.'' He told her as he leaned his head on her right shoulder and took her wrists into his hands, placing her bare arms in the right position above his own. ''Legs a bit further apart.'' He said, pushing her feet apart with his left foot. ''That tree over there.'' He pointed and she nodded as she spotted the tree he mentioned.

''Ok, ya aim towards your target.'' Daryl said as he guided her arms in the right direction towards the target. ''Keep it steady, it's gonna kick back a little.'' He mentioned as he held her wrists in place. ''Ok keep your arms like this, alright.'' He instructed and moved his hands to hold onto her waist so she could fire the weapon herself. ''And then ya fire.'' He breathed into her ear, making her feel tingly feelings in her stomach. She had to suppress the urge to press herself deeper into his warm body.

_God, I can't concentrate with him standing so close. Maybe we can just skip this training and make out. I wouldn't mind him pushing me up against that tree over there. Maybe just tear off his clothes right here, I'm sure he wouldn't mi-.. _she was thinking while biting her lip, but was cut off by Daryl's voice.

''What're ya waiting for?'' He suddenly asked as he frowned since she still hadn't fired yet. ''Nothing, sorry.'' She replied and tried to concentrate again. She noticed how he seriously was not realizing the affect he had on her. She took a deep breath and fired.

She missed the tree as the arrow went wide to the left of its actual target. ''Shit.'' She mumbled and he chuckled as he heard the disappointment in her voice. ''S'alright, it's your first shot.'' He told her, squeezing her waist a little with his hands before he let go. He stepped back and got another arrow from his bag. He showed her how to load the crossbow by herself now and she lifted the weapon again.

Thankfully for her, Daryl currently stood by her side. She breathed in and fired again. This time it went into a tree but not in the right one. ''Fuck!'' She said at loud and he now laughed. ''Forget this, I'm seriously shit at it!'' She said to him in frustration.

''C'mon don't give up so easily. Try again.'' He told her and gave her another arrow. He had to smirk at the evident pout on her face. As she was about to load her crossbow again, they suddenly heard something rustle behind them. ''Fuck wait.'' Daryl whispered and he got his own crossbow from his back.

''What is it?'' Riley nervously whispered as she stood behind him. ''Dunno, be quiet.'' He whispered back. They looked at the trees in front of them and after a few seconds Daryl suddenly saw a rabbit making its way across from them. Without thinking about it, he fired, impaling the small animal with his arrow.

''Shit you're good.'' He heard her mumble behind him, making him smirk. He walked over the fallen animal and took out the bloody arrow from its body, cleaning it against the side of his jeans.

Riley picked up the arrow she had shot into the ground and moved over to the tree she had impaled with her second arrow. ''Well, at least it was a tree.'' She muttered to herself and took the arrow out of it. ''We'll try again.'' She heard Daryl say behind her and she nodded, loading another arrow in her crossbow.

She turned around to walk back to him and saw him tying a rope around the paws of the rabbit. She froze as she suddenly saw a figure appearing behind him as he was attaching the rope to one of his belt loops.

''Daryl look out!'' She shouted and Daryl barely had time to look up at her, before seeing her firing an arrow straight at him. ''What the fu-..'' he started to say but the arrow missed him, flying right past his head. Suddenly he heard something drop behind him.

He turned around and saw a decaying body on the ground with an arrow sticking out of its head. ''Oh my god.'' He heard Riley say and he looked back at her in surprise, seeing her standing there in clear shock with her crossbow loosely in her hands.

''Shit woman, guess we won't be needin' to fire at trees anymore.'' He chuckled as he strapped his crossbow behind his back and took the arrow from the walker's head.

''I just saw it walking towards you.'' She told him as she still looked wide-eyed due to the sudden panic she felt when she'd seen the walker making its way towards Daryl. ''You did good.'' He told her and took the crossbow out of her shaking hands. He noticed that she was still staring at the body that was laying motionless on the ground.

''Hey, look at me. It's ok.'' He told her as he brought his hands to the sides of her face, making her look at him instead of the fallen walker on the ground behind them. Riley slowly shifted her eyes from the body to look into his familiar blue eyes. She had almost lost him if she had been slower.

''C'mon, enough practice for today.'' He told her, knowing that she was now too shook up to continue. Out of mere instinct to get her out of her shocked state, he pressed his lips against hers for a few seconds before pulling back. She slowly opened her eyes again as his lips left hers and a faint blush appeared on her face. ''Let's head back.'' He told her and she slowly nodded her head.

He turned around to head into the direction of the farm but suddenly felt her taking his hand in hers. Though he never once in his life had held hands with a woman, he gave her hand a light squeeze and together they started to walk back towards camp.

* * *

After about an hour they reached the side of the farm. As they were walking into the direction of Daryl's tent, they saw that Shane and Rick were already back from dropping off the guy they'd found. They noticed that both of the men looked like shit, as if they had been in a fight.

Riley frowned as she noticed that someone was sitting blindfolded in the backseat of their car. Apparently they didn't do what they'd planned on doing earlier.

''I thought they would drop him off somewhere?'' Riley said to Daryl who frowned as he stared at Rick and Shane, seeing they were clearly in another argument. ''They obviously have been fighting, what in the world happened to them out there?'' Riley wondered.

''I'm gonna go talk to them.'' Daryl suddenly said. ''What?'' She said to him in surprise. She thought he was trying to distance himself from the others. ''Yeah, this shit is pissing me off.'' He replied as he looked at her. ''You take these back to my tent.'' He told her as gave his bag full of arrows that she quickly flung over her shoulder before he handed her his crossbow.

He wanted to give her the dead rabbit tied on a rope as well, making her face scrunch up in disgust. He lightly chuckled at her reaction. ''Just hang it on a low branch in that big tree next to my tent.'' He told and gave her the rope, which she held far away from her body as if it was on fire.

She saw the amusement in his eyes and she stuck out her tongue, making him shake his head before she saw a small smile on his face. He gave her a nod and walked over to the two men. She made her way over to Daryl's tent, seeing how he now was apparently listening to what Rick had to say. To her surprise, Daryl walked over to the backseat of the car, pulling out the guy that was sitting there, and took him over to the barn.

_What in the hell is he doing? _She wondered. She shook her head and quickly walked over to the big tree next to Daryl's tent to get rid of the dead rabbit. She tied the rope to a branch, before entering his tent to lay their weapons in the corner. After she was done she quickly walked out again, seeing that Rick and Shane were walking towards the house, Daryl however, was nowhere to be seen. She quickly made her way over to them.

''What's going on?'' Riley asked Rick as she reached the two men. ''Daryl's going to talk to Randall.'' Rick mentioned with a frown on his face. ''Randall?'' She asked and Rick nodded. ''Yeah it's the kid's name, just a teenager.'' He told her. Riley stared back at the barn in concern. What did Rick mean with talk? Daryl would be the last person to have a talk with anyone.

As she sat there on the porch for half an hour waiting for Daryl to come out of the barn, she couldn't take it anymore. She looked around to see if nobody was paying any attention to her and went over to the barn. She heard some yelling, making her frown. She silently walked closer to the door.

''I asked you kid, where is your group!'' She heard Daryl demand and then a thumping sound. ''I said I don't know man, they left me!'' She heard a younger male yell back, who was now known as Randall.

Her eyes widened as she realized that Daryl was probably beating the crap out of a kid. Surely Rick didn't want this to happen right? She quickly opened up the door in order to stop Daryl before he would get into trouble for this.

''Daryl! What in the hell are you doing?'' She called out as she stepped into the barn. Daryl looked back at her, surprised by her sudden entrance. ''I'm sure Rick didn't want you to do beat the cra...'' She started but then got a clear look at the kid that was sitting tied up in a chair, looking straight at her. Her eyes widened as she noticed that he looked familiar, as if she had seen him once before. Memories that she had been able to suppress quickly resurfaced again as she stared at the kid.

''Riley get outta here, I need to get some answers outta this kid.'' Daryl said but she stayed nailed to the ground as she was looking at Randall. ''Riley, I said leave!'' Daryl ordered as he pulled at her arm. He startled her and she looked back at him in fear, shrinking back from his touch. Daryl instantly let go of her arm, concern edging his face.

''Hey you're that girl tha-!'' Randall suddenly started to say but Daryl punched him in his face again. ''Shut the fuck up!'' Daryl told him and then grabbed Riley's hand, getting her out of the barn, closing the door behind them.

''What the fuck was that!'' Daryl demanded as Riley seemed to be in some sort of trance. ''I don't want that kid seeing you! Who knows where the fuck he came from!'' He told her, angry that she hadn't listen to him when he told her to leave.

He noticed the look of fear on her face. ''Riley?'' He said in calmer voice. ''I recognize him.'' She suddenly whispered. ''What'chu mean?'' He asked her with a frown on his face. How in the hell could she know that kid? ''From before.. before you found me.. those men I was running from.'' She replied, looking at the ground. Daryl's eyes widened at the news.

Randall was from that group of men that had raped two teenage girls in front of their fathers' eyes. ''I.. I saw him there just watching the whole scene.. others around them were laughing and cheering those men on.. He just stood there doing nothing.''

Daryl noticed tears were falling from her eyes when she said that and pulled her against him. ''I'm not gonna let anyone hurt you.'' He reassured her as he wrapped his arms around her, enveloping her into his familiar warmth. Riley grabbed onto the back of his shirt, pressing herself into his chest. She was scared, she couldn't believe that those men actually came in contact with people from her group.

After standing there for several minutes, Daryl pulled back a little, making her look at him. ''I'm gonna try and get more answers outta him.'' He told as he brushed his thumbs underneath her eyes, wiping away her tears. He knew she was scared, seeing it in her eyes as she looked up at him. ''You go back to camp, alright?'' He told her and she slowly nodded. He placed a kiss on her lips before walking back into the barn again. She sighed as she walked back to camp.

* * *

An hour later, Daryl informed the group what he had gotten out of Randall, mentioning that his group consisted out of nearly thirty people, was hostile and that the women would not be safe. He decided not to share the fact that Riley had been in contact with this group in the first place, since most of the group members did not really know the whole story on what Riley had experienced before she had joined them. He thought it was best to leave it up for Rick to decide if he would inform the group about the exact details.

''Rick, I need to talk to ya for a sec.'' Daryl suddenly said, making the other man frown at him, but he nodded, walking away. Daryl took one last look at Riley, and followed the man. Riley looked at the ground, knowing that Daryl would now be informing Rick about the matter. It seemed to her that everything was just getting more awful as days passed by.

''Hey you okay?'' Glenn asked as he noticed the look on Riley's face. ''Yeah just.. what Daryl told us.'' Riley said and he nodded, understanding what she meant. ''I know, after this whole walker situation, you seem to forgot that there are still worse things out there.'' He said and she sighed. Yeah, he sure was right about that.

After Daryl had his talk with Rick, the man had told the group the kid was a threat. It was not safe to just let him go free. The only option was to kill him. "You can't just decide on your own to take someone's life!'' Dale told the man. ''The kid is dangerous Dale, he knows people from our group!'' Rick replied.

''Still, you can't just decide this alone.'' Dale replied. Rick sighed in frustration. ''Ok, if anyone has a better idea let me know.'' Rick said looking around but nobody replied. ''Just let me try, Rick.'' Dale told him, making Rick frown, but after a few seconds he finally nodded. ''You have the rest of the day to come up with something else.'' Rick mentioned to the older man before walking away.

As Riley had gotten back to her tent, she felt lonely and scared. She had actually been spending every night with Daryl in his tent after his accident, making her own tent not really feel like home anymore. The fact that Randall was now on the farm as well didn't really feel comfortable either. She sighed and went to pack her things. Hopefully Daryl wouldn't mind that she wanted to stay with him from now on.

As she stepped out of her tent with her bag, she noticed that Daryl was still talking to Rick and now Shane had entered the conversation as well. She quickly made her way over to Daryl's tent that was still standing further away from the other tents.

As she was taking off her boots while sitting on Daryl's sleeping bag, the man in question entered the tent. ''Hey.'' She greeted. ''What're you doing?'' He asked as he saw her placing her boots next to her bag in the corner of his tent. ''Is uh.. it okay if I stay with you from now on?'' She asked him, being a bit hesitant about it.

''Fine with me.'' He told her as he sat down next to her. Heck, she had already been spending all her nights here since he had gotten back from his accident. It was no real change in the matter if she would have her bag sitting in his tent now as well.

Riley smiled to her herself. Apparently he wasn't opposed to the idea of officially sharing a tent with her as she first thought he would.

''So, what does Rick want to do with Randall?'' She asked him. ''He wants to hold another group meeting tomorrow,'' Daryl mentioned, ''he knows some people here, it's dangerous.''

She frowned at the news but knew that Rick probably knew what he was doing. She looked at Daryl's right hand, seeing him making a fist before loosening it again. It was still covered in dry blood, probably from punching Randall repeatedly in his face.

She crawled over to her bag, getting out a washcloth and grabbed a bottle of water sitting next to his bag. Daryl looked at her in confusion as she turned back to him.

Riley took his hand into her own and he watched her as she was cleaning the blood from his skin. He didn't really know what she thought about him beating Randall. ''Ya know I needed to get answers outta him right?'' She heard him say, making her look at him in confusion. ''The kid.'' He said and she frowned, looking back at his hand. ''I guess, I mean.. regarding the circumstances, I get it.'' She told him.

He bit the inside of his cheek, not really feeling satisfied with her answer. It was wrong what he did, but it needed to be done in order to get Randall to talk. Rick couldn't do such a thing, and he knew Shane would just kill the kid. Rick knew that as well, that's why the man asked him to question Randall in the first place.

Riley noticed Daryl remained silent and looked back at him, seeing him frowning as he looked to the side. ''Hey.'' She said, pulling at his hand a little, making him look at her. ''I get it. You did what you had to do to protect this group. I'm sure if there was any other way, Rick would not have condoned such a thing.'' She told him, laying away the dirty washcloth as she was finished cleaning his hand.

''Riley? Daryl? You in there?'' They suddenly heard Dale call out to them. Riley walked out of the tent, facing the older man. ''Riley, does this feel ok to you? Just killing a young boy like that?'' Dale asked her, making the young woman frown. ''Dale it's just.. what Daryl told us, I mean.. it's not safe to have him here.'' Riley replied as she felt Daryl coming up to stand beside her.

''But just kill him? We can send him away, so he still has a chance to live.'' Dale pleaded. ''What if he comes back?'' Riley said and Dale shook his head. ''If we can get him far enough, he still can live.'' Dale replied. Riley stared at the ground thinking about it. She would never feel safe knowing the kid knew where they were, who they were. What if he would meet up with his group and take revenge on her group? She didn't even want to think about what would happen to everyone here.

''I don't know Dale, I know it's wrong but.. he's dangerous.'' She answered and Dale looked at her, realizing she already had made her decision on the matter. He sighed and looked at Daryl.

''And you? You agree with this?'' The older man asked him. ''This group is broken man.'' Daryl told him. ''For Riley's sake - I agree with whatever she says. I don't care 'bout the kid.'' Daryl replied making the older man frown but he slowly nodded. He walked away and Riley sighed.

''Is it horrible to say that I want him gone? I mean, he was in a group with those.. men.'' She told Daryl and looked down. She felt like a horrible person for wishing the kid would just go away. He was a constant reminder of what she had seen. Letting him loose like that just meant the possibility that he could always come back.

''I get it, don't make ya a horrible person.'' He told her and she looked at him. He always had his own way in comforting her. It made her feel special that the once so seemingly cold and distant man was now able to open up to her, even if it was in his own way. The fact that he would stand by her decision showed he cared. He took her hand, guiding her back into his tent.

He sat down on his sleeping bag again, pulling off one of his shoes as Riley sat beside him. She was silent, making him look at her. ''Wha?'' He asked her as he noticed that she looked at him strangely. She suddenly kissed him on his cheek, making him frown. ''What was that for?'' He asked her, confused by her sudden mood shift.

''You're sweet.'' She told him and smiled. ''Shit woman, Dixon men ain't sweet.'' He grumbled, looking away as he pulled off his other shoe, hiding his obvious blush. He was called a lot of things before, but never 'sweet'. She chuckled and bumped her shoulder against his. '''Yes you are, you just don't want to admit it.'' She told him and he rolled his eyes.

''Probably ruins the tuff guy act, hm?'' She whispered teasingly in his ear. He didn't reply and she had to hold back her laugh. _Stubborn ass man_. She placed a kiss on the side of his neck and then one on his jaw to draw his attention. ''You can show me, I won't tell a soul.'' She whispered.

He slowly moved his head to face her and she leaned in to give him a quick kiss on his lips. ''Thanks for caring about me.'' She whispered against his lips as she brushed her hand along his cheek.

He looked at her in a way she had not seen him looking at her before and it made her wonder once more what he was thinking. However, she was quickly cut off in her trail of thoughts as he leaned in to kiss her again.

She immediately responded back when she felt his lips on hers, pulling herself closer to him. He pulled her on his lap and she deepened the kiss, trailing her hands from his neck to his biceps. She felt his rough hands going underneath her top, trailing his fingers along her back. She let out a shaky breath as he moved his lips towards her neck, nipping at her skin.

Daryl was enjoying this nice little make out session, always liking the fact when she was the one to initiate it, showing him that she wanted him.

Riley gasped as he nibbled at her earlobe, while his thumbs were brushing along her sides. With all his touching and kissing, Riley realized she wanted more, needed more. She had been having these thoughts all day since this morning. Ever since he told her he wasn't in pain anymore it got her thoughts running, and she knew she needed to be the one to act upon it, since she knew Daryl might not be so straightforward.

Riley slowly moved her hands to the front of his flannel shirt, starting to unbutton it. Daryl suddenly pulled back a little to look at her as he sensed what she was doing. He frowned, trying to decipher her current mood. She did know what she was doing right?

Riley didn't say anything as she looked into his eyes, slowly leaning forward to meet his lips again.

Whatever he was thinking, she sensed he'd let it go as he kissed her back, his tongue sliding over her bottom lip demanding access which she eagerly gave him. She finished unbuttoning his shirt, pushing it down from his broad shoulders, letting her fingers glide along his arms.

She moved her hands upwards to his neck again, kissing him soundly on his lips. Daryl was really enjoying it as he held onto her waist underneath top. Riley placed her hands on his chest, slowly moving lower and he let out a small breath against her lips at the feeling.

She moved back a little, smiling at him. Her eyes were showing so much emotion that he almost couldn't take it all in. He cupped her face in his hands, running his thumb slowly over her lower lip. She opened her mouth a little, brushing her tongue over the tip of his thumb, making him take a small breath at the sudden rush he felt.

She placed her hands over his, intertwining their fingers. She took his right hand and placed a small kiss on his palm. Daryl's chest tightened when she did that, it felt personal, intimate.

He took her in his arms again, kissing her soundly on her lips. His hands trailed downwards to reach the hem of her top, slowly pulling the material upwards, making her move her arms up so he could take it off. Once she was in her bra, she cupped his face, moving back over to his lips again, their tongues lazily twirling around each other.

His hands moved towards the back of her bra, unclasping the material. He slowly trailed his fingers down her arms as he pulled the bra straps lower and lower, giving her goosebumps in the process, until her bra was fully removed. His hands replaced the fabric and she moaned, pulling back her head as she arched her back towards him.

He looked in front of him, her full breasts fitted perfectly into his large hands. She was beautiful. His mouth reached down to her right breast as he rubbed his thumb over her left nipple. ''Oh Daryl..'' She whispered as his tongue rolled over her sensitive nub while feeling the rough skin of his thumb against her other.

He held back a groan at hearing her saying his name like that. She was slowly grinding against him, and he felt himself tightening in his pants. He switched over to her other breast, giving it the same slow treatment with his tongue. She held him close to her chest as she glided her fingers into his hair, moaning softly.

Daryl hadn't been with a woman in ages. He didn't know if he could last that long. He tried to calm down and slowly moved up again to trail his tongue along her collarbone as he moved his hand towards the end of her braid. He pulled away the small rubber band and freed her long wavy hair. He pulled her closer into his arms, their naked chests fully touching each other for the first time made her gasp. She felt his fingers trail up and down her spine as they slowly kissed each other.

After a moment, she slowly pushed him back on his sleeping bag and leaned down to kiss him again, her hair falling like curtains around them. Daryl was normally fast and rough with sex, pulling the woman underneath him and have his way with her until he was satisfied. Riley was different, she was soft, gentle, caring, he knew he needed to take his time with her.

For the first time in his life, this wasn't just about releasing sexual frustration, it was something more. He didn't know what it exactly was, but he just trusted on his instincts. He wanted her to enjoy this as much as it would enjoy him.

He suppressed a groan as he felt her kiss his chest, her tongue gliding over his skin. She trailed lower, over to his stomach until she reached his belt. He leaned back on his elbows as she undid his belt and opened the buttons of his jeans. She smiled at him as she pulled down his jeans. She could see that he was already eager for her by seeing the straining erection in his boxers, making her bite her lip as she looked back at him, seeing the lustful gaze he was giving her.

She lay back on top of him again, kissing him as she felt his hands travel along her naked back, moving lower until he squeezed her ass with his hands, pressing her against his erection, making her gasp against his lips.

Their tongues were twirling around each other as he slowly rolled on top of her, not once breaking their skin to skin contact. He kissed her along her jaw as he felt her hands brushing through his hair.

He slowly made his way down, licking her skin as he palmed her breasts again. He took her left nipple between his teeth and gently pulled a little. Her grip on his hair tightened and she moaned softly, enjoying the way his mouth worked and the rough skin of his hands felt against her skin.

He trailed his tongue between the valley of her breasts, moving lower and lower until he reached her the front of her jeans. His hands trailed along her sides and he looked at her, seeing her smile at him, silently telling him to continue.

He looked down and unbuttoned her jeans, removing the annoying piece of clothing, leaving her in her panties. He looked at her now, seeing her breathing a little faster in anticipation. She blushed as she saw his eyes roam over her body. He slowly moved down again, kissing the inside of her thigh.

''Daryl…'' She pleaded when she felt him kiss near the place where she wanted to feel him the most. He pulled down her panties, removing the flimsy fabric slowly down her legs.

As she lay there naked before him, her hair fanning around her on his pillow, he couldn't seem to comprehend the fact that such a beautiful woman wanted him. As his eyes trailed over her body, he noticed a tiny rose-shaped tattoo on her right hip, making him frown. He didn't even know she had a tattoo.

She saw him frowning a little as he had spotted her tattoo, one she had secretly gotten when she had turned sixteen. To her surprise, he leaned down, letting his tongue trail over the skin where the tiny black-lined figure lay, making her gasp. He slowly moved up, letting his tongue glide over her skin. As he reached her mouth, she eagerly pulled him in for another kiss.

He moved his body a little so he was pressed up against her, laying on his side. He leaned on his left arm as he trailed his right hand over her body, gliding his hand from the swell of her breast, to her stomach. She was so distracted by his kissing that she suddenly bucked against him in surprise as he cupped her between her legs.

''You like that?'' He whispered huskily in her ear, much to his own surprise. Daryl had never once talked during foreplay, heck he didn't do foreplay but just dove right in, keeping his mouth firmly shut, only to let out the occasional groans of pleasure. What he already had done with Riley just now was something he'd never done before. Heck, the only thing he would normally do was pull down his pants. But now, here with her, shit he had no idea how she was making him wanting to do this.

Riley bit her lip to hold back a moan as he whispered teasingly in her ear. ''You like that, huh?'' He repeated. ''Hmm.. oh..yeah..'' She could only reply as her eyes closed when she felt him gently trail his middle finger along her wet slit. God, it felt so good. She placed her hands on his bicep, kissing the top of his shoulder as his arm was leaning over her. ''Daryl, please.'' She breathed against his skin.

They slowly kissed but Riley gasped against his lips as he inserted one finger into her. She bucked against his hand again from pleasure and Daryl lightly pulled at her lower lip with his teeth. He could already feel that she was wet for him. It made him groan and he plunged his tongue into her mouth, letting their tongues roam around each other, while slowly motioning his finger in and out of her.

After a moment her breathing was beginning to get louder, but he didn't want her to cum around his finger the first time she was with him, so he stopped his ministrations, hearing a small sound of displeasure by her. He smirked as he lay on top of her again, leaning on his arms to hold back his weight from crushing her as he sucked on her lower lip.

Her hands moved along his side, down to his boxers. She pushed it downward until he had to pull back a little to remove the piece of clothing.

Seeing him naked for the first time made her heart flutter as she bit her lip, her eyes roaming over his body. He was every sort of manliness she had ever dreamt of and so much more. She couldn't wait to feel him inside her. She noticed he was pretty damn eager himself, making her blush.

He moved on top of her again, kissing her neck as he heard moan his name, trailing her fingers along his back. He groaned at the feeling and she could feel him rock hard against her thigh, realization hitting her. ''Daryl, you.. we.. we need protection.'' She barely managed to get out.

He pulled back a little and he looked at her. Shit, he had nearly forgotten all about that as he had been so caught up in the moment. The look on his face nearly made her chuckle but she kept it inside in order not to ruin the mood, and reached over to her jeans that were laying to the side, quickly retrieving what she looked for.

He quirked an eyebrow at her by seeing she already had a condom in her jeans and she blushed. ''What?'' She asked and he shook his head. He made quick work of it and she eagerly pulled him back, kissing him hard. She wrapped her legs around him, silently telling him she needed him so much right now.

He looked into her eyes and slowly entered her. She gasped and he groaned out loud at the feeling of being inside of her, god she was tight but oh so wet for him.

His thrusts were slow, trying to move in and out of her at an unhurried pace, fighting the feeling of wanting to slam himself inside of her. His jaw tensed, knowing he should hold himself in check. He needed to draw this out.

It had been such a long time ago since Riley had sex, and her body clearly needed to adjust to Daryl's size. But only after a few thrusts from Daryl, she got into it, only feeling bliss. _God he feels so good, _she thought to herself as she moaned.

Hearing Riley moan like that made it difficult for Daryl to keep up his slow pace as he tried to draw out as much pleasure as possible. It had been so long ago that he had lain with a woman, but this all felt so different. He wanted to take things slow, but it was so damn difficult.

Riley heard his straining breath and she opened her eyes, seeing his tensed up jaw as his eyes were closed shut in concentration. She realized what he was doing, he was holding back.

''Baby,'' she breathed, making him look at her, ''just let go, don't stop.'' She added, placing her hands on the sides of his face to soundly place a kiss on his lips.

Her comment really did it because it made him start to quicken his pace, letting go of his restraints as he pulled back from her lips to watch her face. She had her eyes closed and her lips were parted, moaning his name over and over again.

He was now thrusting faster inside of her, apparently hitting all the right spots as she clawed at his back, pleading that he shouldn't stop. She felt amazing around him, tight and warm. ''Fuck.. Riles.'' He groaned into her ear.

She could feel her whole body tingle, the feeling of him inside her felt so right. She heard him breathe loudly next to her ear and she wrapped her arms around his neck again, kissing him, letting her tongue twirl around his.

She could feel herself getting closer as he buried his face into her neck while he was deeply thrusting into her. After a few moments she gasped out loud and arched her back as her orgasm hit her full force.

Daryl felt her tightening around him and he groaned as he felt his own release as well. He slumped down on top of her, both of them catching their breaths.

She slowly trailed her fingers over his now sweaty back, while her other hand glided through his hair as she kissed the nap of his neck. Daryl didn't know what to think when she did that. His normal behavior was to get the hell out, feeling uncomfortable about the entire situation to be near the woman he had just lain with. But this felt entirely different, it felt intimate - something he'd never felt before. He pulled back a little to look at her, seeing her flushed face. He leaned in and slowly kissed her on her lips.

After a moment he rolled off of her, quickly cleaning himself up and pulled her to his side. She felt his steady heart beating through his chest making her smile. _This surely needs to be repeated soon, _she thought to herself.

''What'chu smilin' for?'' She heard him ask. ''No reason.'' She replied, raising her head to look at him. ''Ya always thinkin' things but ain't sayin' nothin' 'bout it woman.'' He told her when he saw her grin at him. She lay her head back down on his chest, trailing her finger along the tattoo that was on the inside of his right arm.

She felt him staring at her, of course, still trying to figure out what she was thinking. She had noticed that he would get anxious when she did not say what was on her mind, assuming things and jumping to conclusions.

''I was just thinking how great this was, and that it should be repeated soon.'' She finally said and she felt him release a small breath, making her smile. Underneath his tuff guy appearance, she knew he was insecure about things, especially when it came down to her. She didn't understand why though, she had fallen head over heels for him.

''Did you have many women?'' She suddenly asked him. ''Wha?'' He asked her, completely caught off guard by her question. ''You heard me, did you have many women?'' She repeated. She heard him sigh and looked up at him again. ''Woman, you ask too damn much.'' He said, pulling his arm over his eyes.

''C'mon, tell me. Or you're making me guess.'' She smirked as she pulled back his arm to look at his face. He kept quiet, staring at the ceiling of the tent and she rolled her eyes. ''Ok, I think about.. twenty something.'' She said and grinned at him.

''What? What in the hell makes you say that?'' He asked her, actually rather shocked by the outrageously high number. ''Because you're a sexy redneck and I'm sure many women would not be able to resist you.'' She teased and saw him flush at the way she said it. ''Whatever.'' He replied, rolling his eyes. ''Well, am I right or I am right?'' She asked him, pulling herself on top of him.

''You ain't.'' He merely replied, receiving a look of surprise from the woman on top of him. ''No?'' she asked. ''Shit, no not that fuckin' many - I ain't good with women.'' Daryl grunted and looked away from her face, the embarrassment was clearly written on his face.

He'd never actually been in a serious relationship before in his entire life and the few women he did have were only all over him when they were drunk, looking for a quick fix as Merle would scoot them into his direction to 'make him a man'. And even then it was all awkward unless he was totally wasted and couldn't even think straight anymore. His insecurities went out the window then. His normal behavior was to just lash out at women, or merely ignore them as a defense mechanism. He certainly did not want them to get close.

''Wow.. and here I figured you to be a male-slut.'' She told him with a straight face as she wanted to get rid of the embarrassment she could feel radiating off of him. The way he glared at her made her laugh. ''Why you little.'' He said as he realized she was just messing with him and pinched her side, making her squeal and she lightly slapped his shoulder to make him stop.

She was sort of surprised by the fact that women weren't all over him. He was handsome which probably would attract a lot of female attention. However, he was also insecure at times, trying to disguise it with his grouchy behavior. She knew how he acted around her at first, but the fact that she didn't gave up surely made her assumptions true that he was a more than his gruff and distant appearance.

''Well, you clearly weren't a virgin, that's for sure.'' Riley teased and grinned at him as he glared at her. She stuck out her tongue at him and he quickly leaned in to nip at it, making her squeal out of surprise. ''Better not be doin' that again or I will put it to work, woman.'' He said as he pulled back and she grinned at him before hiding her red face in the nap of his neck after she realized what he actually had implied. _That put her in her place with all that jokin' around, _he thought as he smirked.

''So, what's your record then?'' He asked her after a moment, being rather curious about it himself. ''Two.'' She replied rather quickly. ''Wha? No way, you're lyin' woman.'' He said as he smirked at her when she looked up at him. ''Nope, I swear two.'' She said. She saw him contemplating about something as he looked into her eyes.

''Is that includin' me or what?'' He suddenly asked her. She casted down her eyes, making circles on his bare chest with the tip of her finger. He looked at her in curiosity as she didn't reply, seeing a faint blush on her cheeks. ''No way.'' He suddenly whispered as realization had hit him, and she slowly looked back at him again. ''Yup, just one I met during college,'' she told him, ''I mean Daryl, you do have eleven years on me.''

He frowned when she said that, ''hm, guess I never thought about that.'' He mumbled. She bit her lip when she saw the look on his face. ''Age is nothing but a stupid number, I don't care.'' She quickly said as she placed her finger on his forehead to push away his frown.

''Me neither.'' He finally admitted as he rolled on top of her and gave her a slow kiss. Deep down, he was happy that she just had one guy before him. Shit - he already became jealous at the mere thought that she had been with another guy before him. Heck, the few women he did have, he couldn't even seem to remember how they even looked like.

Riley, however, was different. The fact that she kept on coming back even though he had been the way he was, definitely proved to him she wasn't a woman that easily gave up when things got tuff. He was pulled from his thoughts as he felt Riley's arms wrap around his neck. She gave him a look that radiated mischief, suggesting she was definitely not tired enough for another round. Who was he to deny her that?

* * *

Two hours later, Daryl was trailing his fingers along Riley's bare back. She was fast asleep, wrapped around him like a vine. He smirked as he thought back to their recent activities, which had probably worn her out.

He all of a sudden heard some people talk near his tent. ''We can't just let the boy get killed, Shane.'' Daryl heard Dale say as he saw shadows near his tent. Daryl sighed thinking his time of bliss was interrupted by the group.

He heard the two men discussing rather loudly and he was about to get up and tell them to discuss their drama somewhere else before Riley would wake up. However, the woman in question had already heard the discussion going on outside and began to stir. She slowly opened up her eyes, and looked up and him. ''Hey.'' She whispered and smiled at him. ''I fell asleep.'' She stretched a little before pressing herself into his side, pulling her left leg over his legs.

''Guess ya were pretty worn out.'' Daryl said rather proud of himself. She chuckled lightly and pulled herself on top of him. ''Someone's being cocky, hm?'' She teased him and kissed him on his lips.

''We can't just kill him Shane.'' They both heard Dale say, making Riley pull back from Daryl's lips, making him pissed off. ''Yo! Discuss your shit somewhere else! Some of us are tryna sleep!'' Daryl suddenly shouted and it went dead silent outside.

Riley saw the scowl on his face and she chuckled. ''We are sleeping during the middle of the day.'' She told him with a smile on her face and he shrugged his shoulders. ''Fuck it, we can do whatever the hell we want.'' He said and rolled on top of her.

''Hm, do you have something in mind?'' She asked him as she brushed her hands along his arms while he buried his face in the nap of her neck. ''Yeah, got a thing or two.'' He whispered in a husky voice to her and she gasped as he nibbled at her earlobe, clearly indicating what he wanted to do.

* * *

**_A/N: I hope you liked this chapter. Riley and Daryl finally took a step further into their relationship. I hope it was written alright.. :/ - I noticed a few more followers to this story, thank you! :D - And also a massive THANK YOU to the people that are leaving me reviews, I really appreciate it. It's always nice to receive some feedback on my story. Don't hesitate to leave me one for this chapter, I really wrote my head off lol! Thanks for reading! :)  
_**


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter seventeen**

Later when the sun was about to set, the group had a big discussion on what to do with the Randall. He knew about the farm, he knew Maggie and even recognized Riley. Even though no one besides Rick and Daryl knew about the latter detail, both deciding to keep it from the others.

As they all were standing together in the living room of the house discussing the problem, the divide between the group became clear. Rick saw Randall as a threat; Dale however was determined to not let the boy get killed.

''We are no better than those people he was with if we kill him!'' Dale argued while the rest stayed silent. He tried to defend his case that they could not just go around killing the living. "If we do this," Dale said, "we're saying there's no hope. We can't just go around killing people, it's wrong."

Riley was standing behind Daryl as she heard Dale plead for Randall. She knew it was very wrong to just kill the living, but she considered Randall a threat. There could possibly appear so many problems if they decided on letting him go. He could come back and in the worst possible case, he could come back with his entire group. If the latter would happen, this whole group was done for. What she had seen Randall's group do was inexcusable.

It was up to Rick to decide what to do with the Randall now, since everyone did not seem to agree on the matter. Most were just simply not agreeing or disagreeing, trying to be left out of the matter. Eventually, only Andrea sided with Dale. Disappointed that he could not convince anyone else, Dale walked away.

As he walked passed Daryl and Riley, he placed his hand on Daryl's shoulder. ''You're right, this group is broken.'' The older man sadly said and walked away. Riley frowned as he said that while Daryl just stared at the ground.

An hour later, Riley was taking some of her and Daryl's clothes from a clothing line that she had hung up to dry earlier that day, placing them in a basket. She suddenly heard footsteps coming up towards her and looked behind her to see Daryl walk over to her. ''We're gonna take Randall to the barn.'' He informed her as he stopped in front of her. She looked at him with a frown on her face, knowing what he meant by it. They were going to kill Randall.

''I'll be back later, just stay in my tent, alright?'' He said to her and kissed her on her forehead before walking away again. Riley stared at his leaving form. She shivered as a breeze of air passed her and quickly took the basket full of clothes in her arms, making her way over to Daryl's tent.

Only twenty minutes later Daryl showed up in their tent while Riley was just finished with folding up the last shirt from the clothing basket. ''Did you..?'' Riley started, but Daryl shook his head. ''Carl snuck in telling Rick to shoot the kid.'' He told her. ''Carl was there?'' Riley said in surprise and Daryl nodded as he sat down next to her.

''Rick lowered his gun and told me to tie Randall back up again.'' Daryl explained. ''And what happens now?'' Riley asked. ''Guess we just gotta wait the verdict.'' Daryl told her. ''I can't believe tha-.'' Riley started but was suddenly cut off by a loud scream coming from outside.

''Fuck!'' Daryl cursed and quickly got up, sprinting out of the tent with Riley right on his tail.

In the distance Riley saw Daryl throwing himself on a shadow that was hunched over someone. She quickly got over to the person, her eyes widening as she noticed it was Dale. She flinched as she saw what had happened to him. A walker had torn right through his stomach and his intestines were lying out in the open.

''Oh my god, Dale.'' Riley said as she fell to her knees, taking a hold of the man's hand. Meanwhile, Daryl managed to kill the walker that had attacked Dale, stabbing it in its head. He quickly stood up and shouted for help as he saw the others running towards the scene since they had heard the scream as well. ''Over here!'' He called out as he waved his hands in the air a few times before quickly going back to the spot where Riley was sitting.

''Oh my god, oh my god.'' She sobbed as she held onto Dale's hand, who was mumbling something incoherently as his eyes flicked towards Riley and then to Daryl. The latter saw how injured Dale was and his jaw tensed, realizing that the old man was not going to survive this attack.

The others quickly got to the scene, their eyes widened as they spotted Dale on the ground while Riley was holding onto his hand. ''Hershel! We need Hershel!'' Rick shouted for the older man, who was running over to the field as well with Maggie in tow. The veterinarian only needed to take one look at Dale to see that it would be an impossible task.

''It's no use Rick; I won't be able to safe him.'' Hershel told Rick. ''No! No no no!'' Rick said in frustration as he looked over to Dale and back to the others, not knowing what to do.

Riley felt the tears stream down her cheeks as Andrea sat down next to her, crying as well. Riley knew how close the blonde woman was with Dale. ''Dale, oh no..'' Andrea sobbed.

''Please do something!'' Riley heard someone call out but she didn't know who as she stared at Dale who was looking at her wide-eyed, in clear shock, darting his eyes from her to Andrea and back to her again.

Riley suddenly felt a hand on her shoulder and she looked up, seeing that Daryl was looking at her. ''C'mon.'' He said. She looked back at Dale and gently laid his hand on the grass before Daryl helped her up on her feet, taking a few steps back from the scene. She leaned into his side as tears were falling from her eyes.

''Rick, you have to do something - can't just leave him like this, he's suffering.'' Shane told Rick who was staring at Dale as the older man was breathing loudly while Andrea was sobbing quietly while she was holding his hand.

Riley looked over at Rick as he was taking a step towards Dale, seeing that he unholstered his gun, and she realized what he was about to do. As he aimed his gun at Dale's head, she noticed that his hand was shaking as his jaw was tense because Dale was looking straight at him in his shocked state. She knew that he was having trouble to do what needed to be done since he didn't pull the trigger.

Suddenly she felt Daryl leaving her side, making her frown. He walked up to Rick, taking the weapon from his hand, aiming the weapon at Dale's head.

''Sorry brother.'' Daryl said, and after few seconds he fired the gun, making Riley flinch at the sound. She heard Andrea cry louder, as everyone stood around with a look of grief on their faces.

Riley tried to stop the tears from falling down her face as she looked at the old man lying on the ground. He had been in so much pain in the last few moments of his life.

Daryl gave Rick back his gun who was still staring at Dale's body in shock. He then made his way over to Riley and she saw the look on his face, seeing the sadness in his eyes. She placed her hand in his, trying to comfort him since she knew that what he had done just now must not have been an easy thing to do.

''T-Dog and I will take him back to camp. You all go back to your tents. We will have a proper burial tomorrow.'' Shane suddenly said to everyone.

The rest nodded and Riley silently walked back with Daryl to his tent. She stepped in and guided him to sit down next to her on his sleeping bag. She sensed he was clearly thinking about what he just did as they sat there together in silence.

''You did the right thing.'' She suddenly said to him and wrapped her arms around his waist. ''Rick can't be doin' all of this on his own.'' He muttered and she nodded. ''Shit, you are the bravest man I've ever met.'' She whispered, placing her head on his shoulder.

He scoffed at her words, clearly disagreeing with what she said. ''You are Daryl, the fact that you did what you just did, proves it. You did the right thing.'' She reassured him. He pulled back a little to look into her eyes. ''Why do ya always do that?'' He asked her as she saw him frown at her.

''Do what?'' she wondered. ''Tryna make me feel better.'' He replied making her sigh, ''isn't it obvious? I care about you.''

He casted down his eyes but she made him look at her again as she placed her hand under his chin. ''We're family.'' She whispered and leaned in to give him a kiss on his lips, before she rested her head against his shoulder again. _And I love you so much, _she thought to herself as she wiped her remaining tears away with her hand.

After several minutes of staying in that position where they were both processing what just had happened, Riley's voice cut through the silence. ''Let's go to sleep.'' She suddenly said, tired from the stress with Randall and now with Dale's death. It all seemed to be too much to handle.

Daryl nodded and was about to unbutton his shirt but Riley stopped him as she pulled away his hands. ''Let me do it.'' She said and pulled herself on his lap.

Riley slowly unbuttoned his shirt, sliding the fabric from his shoulders before laying it on the ground beside his sleeping bag. She turned back and cupped his cheeks, leaning in to press her lips against his for several seconds before pulling back a little, looking into his eyes. ''Just as long as we stay together, nothing can break us.'' She whispered and he slowly nodded.

He lowered his hands to the hem of her top, removing the piece of clothing. He placed his hands on her shoulders, moving upwards to her neck, to finally cup her face and pull her closer towards him, kissing her slowly. She trailed her hands over his chest, as she let her tongue slowly roam around with his. Everything was unhurried and everything was calm. They were just enjoying each other and forgetting the world around them momentarily. They both seemed to realize that this wasn't about sex, this was about finding comfort in each other.

His hands trailed over her back, letting his fingers slide over her skin before moving upwards to remove her bra. He unclasped the fabric, slowly removing the straps down her arms before flinging it beside him. He palmed her breasts in his hands, earning a small gasp that escaped from her mouth. Goosebumps were beginning to form on her arms from the movement. She leaned her head against his as she wrapped her arms loosely around his neck, closing her eyes. He brushed his thumbs over her hardening nipples, loving how her body responded to him.

After a few moments, he reluctantly removed his hands, knowing they both were too tired to continue. He pulled her into his arms, enveloping her into his warmth, both of them enjoying the skin to skin contact. She nuzzled her nose into his hair, god she loved him so much.

They stayed just like that, both too tired to do anything more. Daryl kept brushing his fingers slowly up and down her bare back. Riley leaned her head on his left shoulder, as she had placed her hand on the side of his face, brushing her thumb over his cheek.

After a few minutes, he felt that her breathing began to slow down, noticing she was gradually falling asleep in his arms as her hand fell from his face. ''C'mon, let's go to sleep.'' He whispered to her. ''Hmm..'' She only replied, too tired to even respond. He easily lifted her from his lap to place her in a lying position beside him on his sleeping bag. Her eyes were already drooping shut. He made quick work of taking off her boots and jeans, leaving her in her panties. He took off his shoes as well, before tugging down his jeans, throwing it in the corner of his tent. He slid down next to her in just his boxers.

He pulled her on top of him, into his arms, noticing she had already fallen halfway asleep by now. Her head lay on his shoulder, just below his chin as he felt her nuzzling her cheek against his skin. After a few moments she stopped, indicating she had fallen asleep.

He listened to her breathing softly, trailing his fingers along her bare back, relishing in the skin on skin contact he could have with her now. As it was silent, his thoughts drifted off to what had happened earlier. Dale's death made him come straight back to reality. Dying in this world was as easy to happen as tripping over your own two feet. Daryl had always known that since this disease had broken out that he could survive in this world, just hunt for food, find shelter, kill walkers and that were the only few things he needed to worry about. However, now that he had Riley in his life, it made him want to do anything in his power to protect her, to keep her safe. She was his family, his new family and he wasn't about to give her up so easily. That was the last thing that was on his mind before his eyes slowly closed, drifting off to sleep.

* * *

The next morning Daryl woke up as he was hearing whispers near his tent. He heard T-Dog and Rick discussing something in hushed voices. He frowned and slowly moved away Riley's arm that was draped around his torso. She mumbled something and rolled away from him to lie on her stomach. He quickly got up, before covering her bare back with the top of his sleeping bag and pulled on some jeans and searched for his shirt.

''He said we could move into the house, it's not safe to be out in the open anymore.'' Rick told T-Dog who nodded. ''What's goin' on?'' The two men heard Daryl say as he came out of his tent with his shirt still half open. ''Hershel said we should move into the house. He's right, it's not safe outside. After what happened last night. It has been the first walker we've seen up here but I'm afraid that it might not be the last.'' Rick told Daryl, making him frown. ''We're having Dale's funeral when everyone's settled in.'' Rick added making the hunter nod.

''Oh, have you seen Riley? Andrea said she wasn't in her tent when she was spreading the news.'' T-Dog told Daryl. ''She's sleepin'..'' Daryl merely replied as he looked to the side, feeling rather awkward because he now was practically saying that she was sleeping in his tent.

Rick and T-Dog exchanged a glance at each other, the latter giving a small smirk. The relationship between Daryl and Riley was nothing new to everyone here at camp, but to now hear Daryl practically admitting it was rather surprising.

''Wake her up, we need to get inside the house. Gotta pack up everything here and move the cars.'' Rick told Daryl who nodded.

''Riley, hey, wake up.'' Riley suddenly heard a familiar voice say. She slowly opened up her eyes, seeing Daryl kneeling beside her. She frowned at him as she saw that he was wearing his regular clothes. ''Why are you already dressed?'' Was the first question she asked. She hadn't even noticed that he'd left.

''The old man said we could move into the house. It ain't safe here. Gotta pack up our shit.'' Daryl said as he got up, quickly moving towards his bag, packing his clothes. ''When we're finished, we're gonna have Dale's funeral.'' He added.

She slowly sat up, covering her bare chest with the blanket and looked at what he was doing. Reality just set in again. Dale was gone. People could just die and she couldn't do anything to prevent it. Daryl, he could just die. He was the one that probably was in the most danger as he would do a lot of things on his own. He could just die while he was off hunting or walking the perimeter. Nobody would notice, nobody would be there to help him. Every minute that he was out there all alone, he could die. That thought scared her the most. _He could just die._

As Daryl was finished with packing his stuff, he looked back at Riley, seeing she hadn't moved from her spot on his sleeping bag. ''Riley? We gotta move. I gotta get this tent down.'' He told her, standing up. ''I uh.. Yeah.'' Riley said, shaking her head. He frowned as he noticed that she was worrying about something.

''What's up?'' He asked as he knelt down beside her. ''Dale's dead.'' Riley said as she looked at him. He casted down his eyes. ''I know.'' He replied. ''I feel like such a horrible person.'' She told him and he looked back up at her and frowned.

''You ain't no horrible person. We couldn't have done anythin' to prevent it.'' He told her and she shook her head. ''Daryl, all that goes on in my mind right now is what if it were you? I don't know what I would have done. Oh my god I'm so selfish.'' She said and the tears were beginning to form in her eyes.

''C'mon don't talk like that. You ain't selfish.'' He told her and he pulled her to his chest as she cried. He didn't know what to say to make her feel better. They could never prevent someone from dying in this world. But he would make damn sure she would survive. ''You ain't selfish, not one bit. You care about everyone here.'' He reassured her.

He knew what she was feeling, because he was feeling the exact same thing. If she would have been the one to die, he wouldn't even know what he would have done. It was just this unthinkable thing that he forbade himself to ever cross his mind.

Half an hour later Riley sadly looked at the scene in front of her, seeing that Daryl was taking down his tent, the place they had spend so much time in.

''Why you makin' a face like that?'' He asked her as he had finished his task of packing up his tent. ''No reason.'' Riley said as she crossed her arms in front of her.

He raised his eyebrow at her. ''What?'' He pressed as he now stood in front of her. ''It's just.. We've spend a lot of time in there. I kind of feel bad that it has to go.'' Riley told him as she blushed while she fiddled with the hem of his shirt, not looking at him. He smirked, pulling her into his chest.

''We just gotta find a decent spot in the house, and you're gonna keep the noise down. Ya can be pretty loud.'' He whispered into her ear. ''Daryl! That's not true!'' She exclaimed, now flushed bright red as she hit him against his chest while he chuckled.

''Woman, ya are fuckin' violent, always hittin' me and shit.'' He told her and she rolled her eyes. ''Am not.'' She replied as she crossed her arms. She could clearly see the amusement on his face. ''Ok, maybe a little.'' She admitted as she smiled at him while he lightly chuckled.

''C'mon, git our shit in the house, I'll dump the tent in one of the cars.'' Daryl told her and she sighed, but eventually nodded and went over to where they had dropped their bags on the ground.

As everyone was settled in the house, they were now all standing together in front of Dale's grave. Rick mentioned that they were going to prove Dale wrong by showing that the group could still work together. Riley frowned when he said that, hoping that it was not just positive thinking on his part. It seemed that this group was having setback after setback.

She felt the tears falling from her eyes as she stared at Dale's grave. It was so awful for him during the last moments of his life. She could still see his face in her mind and how he had looked at her with such a frightened gaze. He didn't deserve this, no one deserved such a thing. She just prayed that he was in a better place now.

* * *

Two hours later, Riley and Daryl stood on the porch, overlooking the empty space in front of them. It felt so strange since they had become so used to seeing all those tents standing there, people walking around. In the distance, Riley saw the water pump where she and Carl had often been playing together, laughing while they were making each other wet as they were throwing water at each other. Now it all just seemed as a distant memory. Everyone was currently stuck inside the house, feeling rather tense.

''Daryl.'' They suddenly heard Rick say and they looked to the right, seeing Rick coming out of the house with a map in his hand. ''You mind going with me to drop off Randall?'' He asked as he stopped in front of them. ''Uh, ok.'' Daryl answered, a bit surprised that Rick would ask him. ''We're not gonna ki-.'' Daryl started but Rick shook his head. ''No, I think after what happened to Dale, we should at least try and fulfill his last wish.'' Rick replied.

Daryl nodded and Rick unfolded the map in front of them. ''I want to take him out to Senoia. It's about an hour drive. I think that's far enough. Might lose the light but I think we will be halfway back by then.'' Rick explained and Daryl nodded. ''We go up this road, drop him off there. I think that's a good place.'' Rick said to Daryl as he pointed at the map lying in front of them.

Daryl looked at the map, eying the place where Rick was pointing. ''This spot right here might be a better option, it's more secluded.'' He suggested as he pointed at the map, making Rick frown as he thought about it. ''Hm, guess you're right.'' Rick agreed.

Riley smiled a little as she heard the conversation between the two men as she was standing beside Daryl. She knew Rick was so used to running things by Shane but Daryl could certainly hold his own as well.

While the two men were in discussion, she saw Shane walk by with an evident scowl on his face as he was watching the scene, realizing that Rick was now bringing Daryl with him, and he wasn't happy about it.

''You know Daryl, what you did yesterday.. I ju-.'' Rick started but Daryl cut him off. ''You shouldn't be doin' all the heavy liftin' around here man.'' Daryl said, making the other man frown, but he slowly nodded.

''Ok, I'm gonna get the truck ready.'' Rick told him, leaving the pair alone on the porch. ''You be careful out there.'' Riley told Daryl as she gave him his leather jacket that he had lain behind her on a chair. ''I'll be fine woman.'' He mumbled as he put on his jacket and picked up his crossbow that was standing against the railing of the porch.

She sighed and looked away. The forever worrying about him was going to make her loose her mind. The fact that Dale just died just intensified that horrible feeling.

Daryl suddenly pulled at her hand, making her look at him. ''I'll be back before you know it.'' He told her as he could just feel the worry radiating off of her. Riley bit her lip, really trying to believe him.

''Ya stay inside the house, alright. It's not safe outside here anymore.'' He told her. She nodded and casted down her eyes, knowing he was going to leave soon ''Riles, c'mon - don't be like that.'' He said and placed his hand underneath her chin to make her look at him. ''It's gonna be alright. I'm a Dixon remember?'' He told her and she gave him a small smile.

''You're Daryl sexy ass Dixon.'' She replied and he shook his head while an evident blush appeared on his face. ''Nice and firm that I constantly wanna bi-''

''Riley.'' He warned her in embarrassment and she grinned at him. ''Sorry.'' She said to him and he lightly chuckled.

''You ready to go?'' Rick suddenly said behind them and Daryl nodded towards the man. ''I'll go get him.'' T-Dog said as he walked down the stairs of the porch.

Daryl brushed his hand along Riley's cheek as if he was imprinting her face into his memory. He would only be gone for about two hours, but it wasn't sitting well with him to leave her here by herself. ''See ya soon.'' He told her and stepped back from her before he would be unable to. She gave him a nod and he walked down the steps of the porch, following Rick to the truck.

As they got into the vehicle, Riley saw in the corner of her eye that T-Dog was running towards them with a hard look on his face. ''Guys! Randall is gone!'' He yelled. ''What in the hell?'' Rick said as he quickly got out of the car again with Daryl.

Everyone had overheard T-Dog yelling and they all ran towards the barn where Randall had been tied up. ''How is that even possible? The lock was secure, he had not key. It doesn't make any sense.'' Andrea said. Rick brushed his hand through his hair in frustration. ''Where in the hell can he be?''

''Rick!'' They suddenly heard Shane call out. Everyone saw him stepping out of the woods. ''What happened to you?!'' Lori said with a frown on her face as she saw the blood on Shane's face. ''That asshole snuck up on me from behind.'' Shane said in frustration. ''He fuckin' got me and took my gun!'' He told them.

''Ok, everyone stays in the house. Daryl, Glenn and Shane, we're gonna look.'' Rick ordered. ''But he's gone, isn't that what we wanted?'' Carol said to him, but Rick shook his head. ''We needed to drop him off somewhere far away - now he still might be roaming around here on the farm, it's too dangerous.'' He told the older woman.

Daryl loaded his crossbow and looked back at Riley. ''Ya go back in the house.'' He told her and she frowned but didn't argue with him. She stared at the four men as they were walking into the woods. Suddenly she felt a hand squeezing her shoulder. ''He'll be alright.'' Carol told her.

* * *

As everyone was waiting in the living room of the house for the four men to come back, Riley was looking anxiously out of the window, not being able to see anything because it was already so dark outside.

Suddenly they heard a shot in the distance. ''Oh my god, what's going on out there!'' Carol said in fear.

''Maybe we should go after them, this is taking too long.'' Andrea said and stood up from the couch. ''I'll go with you.'' Riley said as she walked over to the blonde woman. ''Don't, they can be anywhere - it's too dangerous for the two of you to be walking around there on your own.'' Lori said, making the other two women frown at each other. They sighed but went to sit down on the couch.

After what felt like hours, Daryl and Glenn finally returned. Daryl looked around, spotting Riley who was nervously looking back at him. ''Rick and Shane ain't back yet?'' He questioned as he didn't spot the two men. Lori shook her head. ''No they're not back yet.'' She told him, making him frown. ''We heard a shot from the distance, but we didn't see anything.'' Daryl said.

''Did you find Randall?'' Lori asked. ''Yeah, we've found him in the woods but he was a walker.'' Glenn told them. ''He wasn't bitten or scratched. Got his neck broken.'' Daryl added and the rest frowned at the news. ''How the hell is that even possible?'' Andrea questioned. Nobody had an answer for that.

''Shane and Randall's tracks were running right on top of each other - and Randall ain't no tracker. So, he couldn't have come up behind Shane,'' Daryl explained, ''they were together.''

''Ok, what does that even mean? You think Shane attacked Randall?'' Andrea asked Daryl, who shrugged. He wasn't accusing Shane, but it looked fucking suspicious to him.

Lori was pacing back and forth near the couch, making Riley freaking nervous. Ever since Lori had snapped at her and Daryl the other day, she had not really spoken to the older brunette. The fact that she never had even apologized to her or Daryl did tick her off though. Suddenly Lori walked over to Daryl.

''Please Daryl, can you go out and find them?'' Lori asked and he nodded without thinking. However, as he did this his eyes immediately looked over to Riley, trying to figure out what she was thinking - but she merely nodded at him. Of course he would be the obvious choice to go, but that didn't mean that she had to like it.

As they walked onto the front porch their eyes widened at the sight they saw there. ''Walkers.'' Riley whispered in shock as she saw a huge herd walking towards the house.

''Patricia, kill the lights.'' Hershel quickly whispered, and the woman in question ran back into the house.

''Carl, where is Carl?!'' Lori suddenly said out loud as she was looking around in panic, not knowing where her son was. ''Don't worry, we'll check the house again. ''Carol told Lori and they ran back inside the house again to look for the boy.

''What do we do?'' Riley said in fear as she was clutching on to the back of Daryl's jacket, staring at the open field in front of them as the walkers began to move closer. ''Maybe we can hide inside the house?'' Beth suggested. ''That won't work, a herd that size can tear the house down.'' Daryl replied.

''We defend the farm.'' Hershel suddenly said and Daryl looked at him and then towards Riley who had a frightened look on her face. ''You sure man? That's a big ass herd.'' Daryl told the older man. ''It's my farm, I'll die here.'' Hershel replied. Daryl looked back at Riley and he realized that this might end badly. But he was not about to lose her. _No fuckin' way that I'm lettin' her die here, _he thought.

Behind Riley he saw that Maggie quickly was handing out weapons and gave Riley her knife along with her crossbow. ''We need to kill as many as we can.'' Andrea said as Maggie gave her a gun. ''We will drive the cars, trying to lure the rest of them off the farm.'' T-Dog said. ''Ok, I'll go up ahead on my bike.'' Daryl told them as Maggie handed him a gun as well.

''We have to take some stuff with us in case we need to leave fast.'' Glenn told the others and he, Maggie, Beth and Patricia ran inside to get the bags that were still laying in the hallway.

Daryl then looked back to Riley who was still clutching onto his jacket. ''You stay with Maggie and Glenn.'' He told her. ''What?'' She said in surprise. ''Yeah it's safer if yo-.'' He started but she cut him off. ''No, you can't go alone. You can't.'' Riley said as she looked into his eyes. She didn't know what to do if she would lose him. All these fears she had were now coming down at her in full force.

''It's gonna be alright. Go with Maggie and Glenn in a car and shoot at everythin' in sight.'' He told her as her eyes were beginning to tear up. ''We need to stay together, I'm not letting you go alone. Let me go with you.'' She pleaded as a tear fell from her eye. She had this horrible feeling in the pit of her stomach that if they would part now, she would never see him again. Daryl felt something tighten in his chest. He didn't want to leave her either but he needed to defend the farm as well as keeping her safe.

''No, the bike ain't safe now with that many walkers. You're gonna go with Maggie and Glenn in the car.'' He told her again, knowing that she would be safer in a car than on his bike. Riley however, was not agreeing on the matter, shaking her head. ''No please Daryl, just let me go with you.'' She pleaded again while clutching on to the front of his jacket, making his heart sank.

He noticed that the others were quickly running off the porch, knowing he was running out of time.

''Riles, c'mon, you gotta go to the cars.'' He urged her but she kept shaking her head. ''No Daryl please, I lo-..'' she started but he cut her off as he pressed his lips urgently to hers. He had a feeling on what she wanted to confess to him but he knew that the minute she would let the words flow from her lips, he would be unable to let her go.

''Go, go now!'' He ordered and he pushed her into the direction of the stairs. She looked back and saw him jumping over the railing of the porch. ''Daryl!'' She shouted and the man's jaw tensed when he heard her call out to him as he was running through the grass towards the direction where his motorcycle was parked. Every fiber in his body was telling him to go back, but he knew he was doing the right thing by letting her stay with the others, safely inside a car.

''Riley c'mon!'' Riley suddenly heard Maggie call out to her as she got into the car with Glenn. Riley looked back into the direction that Daryl ran off to, knowing she wouldn't be able to find him in this darkness. She quickly turned around and ran over to the car and got in the backseat. She took off her crossbow from her back, laying it on the backseat next to her before pulling down the window. Glenn quickly handed her a gun and they begin shooting out of the windows as Maggie tried to maneuver them between the walkers.

At first Riley had seen Daryl on his motorcycle, trying to draw the walkers into his direction as others were doing the same with their cars. Glenn and her were still shooting while Maggie was driving the car. They made one straight line across the fence and then Maggie turned the car around again to repeat the same process.

Suddenly in the corner of her eye, Riley saw that Andrea and Carol were struggling near the shed. ''Wait stop!'' Riley shouted as Maggie was making another turn. ''What? No we have to keep moving!'' Glenn shouted back to her. ''No! Carol and Andrea are out there in the field, they're in trouble!'' She shouted.

''Riley, we can't ju-..'' Glenn started to say but Riley wasn't taking no for an answer and jumped out of the driving car. ''Riley!'' Maggie shouted as she pulled the car to a stop. Glenn got out off the car to sprint after Riley but the moment he stepped a foot outside of the car, he saw two walkers coming towards him.

''Shit!'' He cursed out loud and quickly closed the door of the backseat that Riley had left open before jumping back into the passenger's seat. ''Go! I can't go after her!'' Glenn told Maggie who quickly turned the car around. Glenn kept shooting as they were driving around in a circle.

''Look out!'' Riley heard Carol call out to Andrea as she saw a walker nearing the blonde woman. Riley quickly shot the walker in its head, saving Andrea from being bitten. The two women stood side by side, shooting down the walkers that were nearing them. Riley saw in the corner of her eye that an unarmed Carol was being pushed into the wall of a shed and quickly ran over to the woman while Andrea kept on shooting.

''Go! Go!'' She yelled as she pushed Carol out of the way, drawing the walkers towards her. She tried to fire another bullet but her gun was empty. ''Shit!'' She cursed, quickly shoving her gun in the back off her jeans. She looked around, suddenly seeing that the barn was on fire. Her eyes widened at the sight but she tried to focus and looked around for an escape.

She couldn't see Andrea and Carol anymore, so they at least got away. A walker came up to her and she quickly took out her knife, stabbing it in its head.

She looked up and saw a small opening between the shuffling walkers leading towards the stables. She was able to dodge a few walkers and ran into the stables where she spotted at least four walkers feasting on a fallen horse. She quickly looked around and noticed a ladder that was leading to the second floor of the building.

She held back a shudder as she heard the walkers gnawing on the fallen horse on the ground and silently tried to pass them without being noticed. She quickly ran up the ladder and pulled it up, placing it next to her on the floor. She silently coughed from the smoke she had breathed in from the burning barn she had passed outside.

In the distance she could hear the sounds of cars passing and she quickly scooted over to the nearest wall.

''No please, come back! Come back!'' Riley shouted as she saw through the crack of a wooden board. ''Help! Help me!'' She tried to shout even louder but it was no use as the cars were too far away. After a few moments she suddenly saw Daryl on his motorcycle speeding off with someone sitting behind him.

''Daryl! I'm here! Come back! Daryl!'' She screamed at the top of her lunges but it was no use, he wasn't able to hear her. A tiny speck of relief filled her that he at least had made it out alive, but the feeling of dread was also suddenly sinking in that they were leaving her behind. Tears were now falling from her eyes in panic as she looked around, trying to figure out what to do.

As the smoke from the nearby barn had caught up in her lunges, she coughed violently. As she peeked through the crack in the wall again, she suddenly noticed that Rick, Carl and Hershel were able to get into a car as well.

''Rick! Over here! Help me please! Help me!'' She shouted again but they couldn't hear her because they were too far away. As the car drove off the farm, she coughed again.

She heard the sounds of walkers shuffling around beneath her as they were groaning loudly. She knew she was safe for now but she had no idea when she was able to come down from the attic. She realized that the longer she stayed up here, the further away the others went. She began to panic at the thought of the group leaving her, Daryl leaving her. She had no idea on where they would be heading, they had never talked about this.

Tears were falling from her eyes by the thought of never seeing Daryl again. She coughed again because the smoke coming from the barn was too overwhelming. Her eyelids felt so heavy as she fought to keep them open but it was not use.

After a few moments she slowly fell into a world of darkness.

* * *

_**A/N: So.. uh.. yeah.. please don't shoot me lol. I know this chapter didn't end well. I'm already working on the next chapter, so don't worry - you will know soon enough what happens to Riley. A big THANK you to everyone that wrote me a review, you are the best and really keep me going in continuing with this story! :)**_


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter eighteen**

At dawn, most members of the group were able to meet up with each other on the highway where they'd initially lost Sophia. It was by mere coincidence and luck that they all seemed to be headed into this direction in the first place. News spread fast among the remaining group members that Patricia and Jimmy hadn't survive the humongous herd that had appeared on the farm. Rick decided not to share the full details of Shane's death until everyone had arrived since they were still missing a few people.

Suddenly, the sound of a familiar motorcycle was heard in the distance and everyone breathed a sigh of relief when they saw it were Daryl and Carol. However, they quickly became aware of the fact that Andrea and Riley were still missing.

''Where is she?!'' Daryl said as he stepped off of his motorcycle, quickly followed by Carol. ''Riley! Shit, get over here girl!'' He called out as he looked around.

Rick suddenly stepped forward, realizing that the young woman Daryl was looking for hadn't made it back yet. ''She isn't here,'' he told Daryl who was now seeing all the familiar faces from his group but not the one who he was so desperately searching for.

Daryl's eyes widened at Rick's comment. ''She's..'' Daryl whispered as panic was setting in.

''Riley and Andrea, they haven't come back yet.'' Rick explained. ''Shane as well.'' Lori informed them and Rick looked at her. ''He didn't make it.'' He said to her with a frown on his face and the group was shocked by the news, well, everyone except one person.

''The fuck!? I send her along with you two! Where in the hell did she go?!'' Daryl said out loud as he stepped up to Maggie and Glenn, clearly not giving a shit about the news that Shane was gone. Maggie lowered her eyes to the ground in shame and Glenn swallowed nervously because of the angry look Daryl was giving the both of them.

''She ran out of the car to help Andrea and Carol.'' Glenn told the redneck who brushed his hand through his hair in frustration. That woman was too selfless for her own good. ''I tried to go after her but it was too crowded with walkers.'' Glenn mentioned, feeling guilty. It wasn't like he had left Riley there on purpose, she was one of his best friends. ''We tried going around the field again to see if we could spot her somewhere, but we couldn't see her at all with the amount of walkers.'' Maggie added and Daryl's jaw tensed at the news.

''Perhaps Andrea and Riley are still together and ran off into the woods?'' Carol said in a hopeful voice as she stood behind Daryl who was now pacing around in panic and frustration. ''I don't know, I saw a walker fall on Andrea.'' T-Dog mentioned, making Rick frown.

''And Riley? Did one of y'all paid any fuckin' attention to her!?'' Daryl snapped. He was so pissed off by the fact that Riley had been left behind.

Suddenly Beth stepped up from beside her father. ''I last saw Riley when she told Carol to run,'' she said, catching Daryl's attention as he looked at the teenage girl. ''When Carol ran away from the shed, I saw Riley heading into the direction of the stables. She was followed by at least five of those.. those walkers.'' She explained. Daryl just stared at the girl and processed what he'd just heard. He suddenly turned around and walked over to his motorcycle.

''Hey! Hey where are you going?!'' Rick suddenly called out, quickly following the redneck. ''I'm goin' back, I ain't leavin' her there!'' Daryl told him. ''You can't Daryl! The place is crawling with walkers! It's a suicide mission.'' Rick said in frustration.

''Fuck that Rick! I ain't leavin' her there! Over my dead body!'' Daryl snapped at the man, not being able to stay calm because this feeling of desperation was too overwhelming for him to cope with. He needed to find her.

''But Daryl you ca-..'' Rick started but Daryl was having none of it. ''I can't fuckin' leave her there Rick! If she's alive I will bring her back and if..'' Daryl started and took a breath, ''if she's one of them, I will help her as well.'' He quietly added. He couldn't even think of the possibility that she would be a walker.

Empty, pale, cold and emotionless. A corpse merely looking for human flesh to devour. Just an empty shell of the beautiful, gentle, caring woman he'd once known. Daryl shook his head, trying to shake off the horrible imagines he was seeing in his head. His beautiful brown-eyed girl, just gone. Never being able to hold her in his arms anymore, never being able to comfort her when she got scared, never hearing her voice whisper in his ear, never feeling her gentle touches on his skin, never hearing her silly jokes, never hearing her laugh, never seeing her smile, her beautiful smile - just gone. Daryl's felt his chest tighten at these thoughts that seemed to pour into his head all at once now.

''He's right, we can't leave her there. She still might be sitting there in the stables.'' Glenn told Rick, thankfully interrupting the horrifying thoughts that were going through Daryl's mind. ''Yeah, maybe she's just waiting for us to come back. She has no idea where we are. She doesn't know this place, she doesn't even know this highway.'' Maggie added, desperately wanting back her friend.

''Andrea, she might still be there as well.'' Carol slowly said. ''There is still a possibility that both of them are alive.'' She mentioned as she looked at Daryl and then to Rick. Rick thought about what they all were saying, there was a chance that both women had made it.

''Dad, it's Riley. C'mon we can't leave her there, please.'' Rick heard his son plead with tears in his eyes as the boy tugged at his hand. He knew his son had grown to care for Riley.

Rick frowned, not knowing what to do now. Leaving those two women behind certainly didn't sit well with him either, the horrible things that could happen to them while being alone on the road like that. Andrea and Riley would certainly attract unwanted attention to them. If it weren't the walkers that they would encounter, it could be other groups, violent groups, dangerous men. Rick's jaw tensed at the mere thought of that happening. Even though he knew the two women had decent fighting skills, they would be no match for such cruelty.

Suddenly his wife walked up to him. ''It's suicide. We need to stick together now,'' Lori told him, ''can't have people stranded out there on the farm. You've seen how many there were Rick, it's impossible.''

Daryl was getting more agitated by the minute with this group. _The fuck do they think? Thinkin' they can decide this shit! _He angrily thought to himself. ''I ain't leavin' her there and that's fuckin' final!'' He roared. ''If ya wanna leave, leave! I don't give a shit! I ain't on some fuckin' leash with ya'll tellin' me what to do! If I wanna go and find Riley, ya'll can't say fuckin' shit 'bout it! The hell with all of y'all!''

Rick took a deep breath, knowing what Daryl was feeling. The desperation you could feel of being separated with the person you love. He looked at Daryl pacing angrily in front of him, realizing that the man probably hadn't figured out the exact emotion he was feeling. Yes, Daryl was a very important member of their group, but he knew Riley had gotten into the hunter's heart. He knew that Daryl's feelings for Riley could make the redneck leave this group in a heartbeat.

''Ok, ok.. we will wait for you here.'' Rick said and Daryl gave him a quick nod in reply, being impatient to go leave already and find his girl. ''I can come along if you want? So you have another pair of eyes with you?'' Glenn suggested, making the hunter look at him. ''Nah, it's better if I go alone.'' Daryl told him. Daryl knew that the majority of these people could probably give a rat's ass if he got killed, but Glenn was important to this group. Glenn frowned but nodded.

''Take one of the cars instead of your bike in case you find them both - but be careful Daryl and hurry up, we can't stay here for long.'' Rick said. He knew Daryl was the best guy to have around for protection, but at the farm Rick became aware of the fact that the man was also able to step up and take charge if deemed necessary. He had gradually changed from being the erratic redneck of their group to a calmer person. The latter was mostly caused by Riley. With Daryl gone, this whole group wouldn't last long. Rick knew that Daryl was important to this group, they needed him, they needed Riley, they needed Andrea.

''Fine.'' Daryl grumbled and he walked over to the car Maggie and Glenn had used earlier. ''Be careful out there Daryl.'' He heard Carol say to him and he gave the older woman a quick nod before getting into the car and speeding off in the direction he'd just came from.

''Shit.'' T-Dog said as he rubbed the back of his neck, looking around on the deserted highway. ''Where the fuck are we gonna camp now?'' He asked, looking at Rick for some sort of guidance. The farm, their home was gone, their safe heaven had disappeared.

* * *

About half an hour later, Daryl arrived near the farm. He really had stepped on the gas because he knew the longer Riley was alone on the farm, the bigger the possibility that she might have already run off into the woods. If she would have done that, it would make his task a lot harder because he would have to track her down then. She at least had a head start of about a few hours, not making the situation any better.

He stared out of window in front of him where he could already make out the walkers shuffling through the grass in the distance. _We need to stay together, let me go with you, _Riley's voice was ringing through his head and he tightened his hands around the steering wheel as his jaw tensed_. _This was entirely his fault. He didn't let her go with him, they didn't stay together - he left her alone. If he had taken her with him on his bike, this all wouldn't have happened. _No please Daryl, just let me go with you._ He could still hear her plead to him. _It's all my fuckin' fault, _he thought to himself in shame as he casted down his eyes.

_Just as long as we stay together, nothing can break us. We're family… nothing can break us, let me go with you, we stay together. Isn't it obvious? I care about you. No Daryl, please.. Daryl!_

Daryl brushed his hand over his face, trying to clear his mind, but it was so damn difficult because this guilt he was feeling was killing him from the inside out. He took a deep breath, trying to calm down. He needed to focus now.

He quickly got out of the car in order to silently enter the dead zone with his crossbow in his hand. He scanned the area with the binoculars he had found in the glove box of the car, seeing that dozens of walkers were still shuffling through the field that once had been his home. He noticed that the ones in the field were actually attracting more walkers from the woods, since he saw them appearing from behind the trees. He hung the cord tied to the binoculars around his neck so he was able to easily use his crossbow in case walkers decided to show up in his face.

Daryl quietly ran into the direction of the now burned down barn, which was a bit secluded from the walkers that were roaming around near the house. He quickly crouched down behind a few fallen boards, scanning through the area. He had no way to either go to the house or even near the field where their tents used to be, so he quickly set his eyes on the stables of which Beth had mentioned earlier that she had seen Riley run into. The building was still intact, only a few walkers roaming around the entrance. He prayed to god Riley was still in there.

Daryl stayed low on the ground as he silently ran to the back of the building. He peered in between two wooden boards and saw six walkers feeding on a horse. He looked at the entrance and saw two walkers merely standing still with their backs towards him, staring off into the distance.

He slowly made his way into the stables through the backdoor, closing it slowly behind him before ducking behind a rather large hay bale. He fired off the only three arrows he had with him, quickly finishing off three of the six walkers that were eating from the dead horse in the middle of the building. The walkers that were still eating, didn't notice a thing and kept on gnawing on the raw bloody horse meat they were holding in their hands.

Daryl slowly walked up behind the three walkers that were kneeling on the floor, and he quickly stabbed the middle one with his knife, before doing the same with the other sitting next to it. His knife however got jammed in the walker's skull because of the pieces of bone that were still sticking to the knife from the first walker he'd stabbed. But before Daryl could take out his knife, he saw that the third walker suddenly looked up and groaned at him, dropping the piece of heart it was gnawing on before making its way to stand up.

Daryl's eyes narrowed in anger and kicked the walker in his face with enough force to send the walker flying backwards on the ground. Daryl was in no mood to be playing around with these bastards. Instead of using his knife that was still stuck in the former walker he'd just killed, Daryl merely stomped on the walker's head with his foot as it was opening its mouth, crushing its skull. The blood spattered all over his shoe and on the ground. ''Fuckin' piece of shit.'' Daryl mumbled.

He retrieved his knife from the other walker's skull, using his foot for leverage. After he took all of his arrows back from the other skulls of the fallen walkers he had impaled, he slowly made his way over to the entrance of the building. He only saw two walkers from where he was standing, so he made quick work of them by using two of his arrows, stabbing them both in the head at the same time before throwing them forward on the ground.

He knew it would be dangerous to leave the big door open when he went off searching for Riley, so he slowly closed it. Even though he tried to be as quiet as possible, the wooden door was old and cracked a little as he pushed it shut. After he finished his task, he peered through a crack in one of the wooden boards to see if he had drawn any attention by the sound the door had just made. He breathed a sigh of relief as the walkers outside were merely roaming the field up ahead and near the house. He had never seen such a big herd like this before.

He now took his time to search through the building, quickly looking in every possible place where Riley might have been hiding, hoping that she was still somewhere in here and had not run off instead. He checked in all the stables, behind every hay bale, scanning every single corner of the building. He silently cursed after fifteen minutes, finding nothing.

He walked back over to the entrance of the building and looked at the floor, trying to see if she might have run out of the stables, hoping he was then able to track her down. He saw the fallen hay straws on the floor, seeing that there were evident footsteps there. He could make out bigger and smaller ones, knowing that a lot of people had been going in and out of the stables, making his task a bit difficult. He tried to pinpoint Riley's footsteps, knowing the approximate size her feet were. He saw a pair of footsteps that seemed to be around her size and followed them with his eyes. He noticed that these footsteps were going in one straight line, actually going around the fallen horse that had been gnawed on by the walkers, as if this person had seen the sight and tried to avoid being seen.

He followed the footsteps till the middle of the building but then noticed that they suddenly stopped. _What the fuck? How is that even possible? _He thought in frustration. It seemed like she'd suddenly just vanished. There weren't any signs that she'd left on a horse, so where did she go?

He scanned the ground up close as he crouched down, seeing two strange squares where the footsteps had ended, making him frown. _What in the hell cou-.. _he started to think but his eyes suddenly widened as he realized that those squares might have been from a ladder. He quickly looked up and froze at what he saw.

There, from the first floor was an arm bend over the side of the floorboards. ''Riley..'' He whispered as relief coursed through him. He knew it was her by the dark blue fabric that covered the arm he saw, since she had been wearing a vest in that exact same color when he had last seen her at the house. Next to her arm was the ladder that she probably had pulled up after she had reached the first floor.

''Clever girl.'' He whispered to himself. Even though he wanted to call out to her now, he knew he couldn't since there were a lot walkers roaming around the stables and her arm was lying awfully still. So, he had no idea if she was sleeping, or worse. He quickly shook away the eerie thought from his head and went to work, piling up all of the nearby hay bales to get to the next floor.

After what seemed like forever, he was finally able to get the hay bales into place in order to climb up to the first floor. He carefully looked over the wooden floorboards and saw Riley laying there, with her back towards him.

He slowly pulled himself up on the floorboards and walked over to her, placing his crossbow on the ground along with his binoculars before he crouched down next to her. He carefully placed his hand on her shoulder in order to roll her over. He prayed to god that she was still herself. He took a deep breath and rolled her over on her back. He saw she was asleep as her chest was slowly rising and falling, her face a bit smeared with black smudges, probably because of the burned down barn she had crossed in order to get here.

''Riley, Riley!'' He called out as he gently shook the young woman laying in front of him, trying to keep his voice as low as possible in order not to draw the attention of the walkers that were roaming just outside the building. ''Woman, wake up.''

Suddenly her eyes slowly began to open. ''Da.. Daryl?'' She replied, merely responding towards the familiar voice she heard as her eyes were trying to focus on the image in front of her. ''Shit, babe it's me!'' He cried out in relief as he heard her voice and pulled her into his arms. He thought for sure she had died.

Riley was still dazed, not really realizing what was going on as she was pressed up against a warm chest. Suddenly she was caught up in a coughing fit from all the smoke she had breathed in. Daryl gently tapped her against her back so she could let it all out.

After she'd stopped coughing, Daryl pulled back a little, taking her face into his hands. ''Babe, it's me.'' Daryl said in concern as he looked at the dazed woman in front of him. ''Have ya been scratched? Bit?'' He asked her. He quickly zipped open the vest she was wearing and pushed the fabric back from her shoulders to check her bare arms. He thankfully noticed that besides the fact that her skin was feeling a little cold, she was ok, and he quickly covered her up again.

Riley now managed to fully open her eyes and looked at him. Suddenly all the past events came back to her in full force. ''You.. you left.. I saw you all leaving.. I was.. I sat here and.. you all left. I was screaming so hard but you didn't hear me.'' She said and began to sob, tears flowing from her eyes, remembering the panic she had felt. Daryl pulled the crying woman back in his arms again. The guilt was eating him alive.

She was right, he had left her, so convinced that she would have been with Maggie and Glenn in a car, safe and sound, while he was able to pick up Carol with his motorcycle. It was all too chaotic to even think straight, dozens of walkers were closing in on them. But it was no excuse, he had left her.

''I'm so sorry, fuck - it was all so hectic, I thought ya were with Maggie and Glenn.'' He said to her while she continued to cry against his chest. ''The minute I saw that ya weren't there on the highway I came straight back for ya.'' He desperately told her as he rubbed her back with his hand, trying to warm her up a bit because she felt so cold.

After a while, her crying slowly turned into small sobs. Daryl noticed she was somewhat calming down. Suddenly her arms went around his neck, pushing herself deeper into his chest. ''We're staying together from now on, whatever happens.'' She whispered through her tears as she buried her face into the nap of his neck.

''I ain't gonna lose ya outta my sight ever again.'' He soothed as he pulled her up onto his lap, holding her even more closer in his arms as she wrapped her legs around his waist. They sat there for a few minutes, Riley finally being able to calm down as she was enveloped in his warmth, breathing in his familiar scent. The thought of nearly losing him had been unbearable. Daryl was stroking her hair, so relieved that she was alright. ''I love you.'' He suddenly heard her whisper, making him freeze his movements.

She slowly pulled back from him, looking into his eyes. Even though he didn't say it back, which she didn't expect him to, she could see it in his eyes. She knew he would have never left her here. He would probably have walked to the end of the earth for her - she would have done the exact same thing for him.

She cupped his face in her hands, brushing her thumbs over his cheeks. He was looking at her with such intensity in his eyes that she almost couldn't handle it. She closed her eyes and kissed him. Daryl felt the feeling of relief running through his body as he knew she had forgiven him the moment her lips touched his. It was only him now that would never be able to forget nor forgive himself for what had happened. And shit, she just told him that she loved him while he had left her. Her heart was too big, he would never be able to understand the feelings she had for him. If it was anything relating to how he felt for her, he knew he didn't deserve it.

''We need to go, the rest are waitin' for us near the highway.'' Daryl whispered against her lips as he had slowly pulled back from her. ''Is everyone ok?'' She asked him in concern, being worried about the others. ''Now is not the time to ask, c'mon. I still need to check somethin' and then we need to get the hell outta here, this place is fuckin' swarmin' with walkers,'' he replied, deciding not to tell her the full details of what had happened during her absence. He needed her to be alert and focused if they ever wanted to get out of here in one piece. She slowly nodded and got up from his lap to sit beside him. He took his binoculars in his hands and peered through the big crack in the wall Riley had earlier been using.

Daryl scanned through the field, trying to find some sort of clue on where Andrea was but he just saw decaying bodies shuffling everywhere. ''I ain't seein' shit - just fuckin' walkers,'' Daryl cursed, making Riley frown.

After looking for nearly ten minutes, Daryl decided to make the call. ''Ok, let's go,'' he said looking at the woman sitting beside him. Riley didn't know what he was actually checking for when he was looking into the field, but she was too afraid to ask him, fearing it might be a person.

''C'mon, we need to get outta here. These walkers are only attractin' others,'' he explained, ''I've parked the car at the edge of the woods - we need to run fast, ok?'' He told her and she nodded, fearing that if she spoke, the floodgates would open again.

They quickly climbed down the ladder that Riley had pulled up earlier and walked over to the back of the stables where Daryl peered through a crack in the wooden door. The herd was roaming in front of the stables, meaning they would have a chance if they would go out the back. Daryl didn't see any walkers shuffling around, but that didn't mean that they wouldn't appear sooner or later when they got out of this building.

He looked back at Riley, trying to think of a plan. ''Where's your crossbow?'' He asked her since he hadn't seen the weapon on her. ''I left it in the backseat of the car.'' She told him and his jaw tensed at the news. He had just used that car but his mind was too crowded with all of his horrible thoughts to notice that the damn thing had probably been sitting right behind him. ''Got a gun on ya then?'' He tried. She nodded, taking out the gun she had tugged in the back of her jeans. ''I'm out of bullets though.'' She said with a frown on her face as she looked at the gun in her hands and he sighed in frustration.

_Fuck! _He thought to himself. She would have to use her knife then, which he didn't like since it would mean that she had to face walkers up close. That had always been the reason why he had given her the crossbow in the first place, so she could shoot from a distance. Thankfully, she wasn't new to using her knife, but it didn't mean he liked it.

_And fuck I need to give her more training with that thing! Last time was a fuckin' lucky shot, _he thought to himself as he recalled their training session with her crossbow. ''Alright, ya gotta use your knife then.'' He told her and she nodded, quickly getting her knife from her belt. He took the gun from her hand and tugged it in the back of his own jeans.

After a few seconds, Daryl slowly opened the backdoor. He looked to the right, seeing a lone walker just rounding the corner. He gave Riley a look that she should stay back and he turned around again, swiftly shooting an arrow through the walker's head, and slowly walked further on the grass the retrieve it again. ''Ok, c'mon.'' He whispered back to Riley and she quickly followed him to the edge of the stables.

Daryl looked around the corner again and saw the enormous amount of walkers in the field, shuffling in no particular direction. He noticed that this herd only seemed to be increasing for some strange reason. The only thing that would explain it was that they were merely attracting each other. He looked back at Riley who was standing behind him, looking at him with her big brown eyes.

''You hold on to me ok, don't ya let go.'' Daryl instructed and she nodded, taking a fistful of the jacket he was wearing in her hand. He would be damned if he would lose her out of his sight ever again.

''The car is over there.'' He said and then pointed into the distance, making her see where the car was parked. ''We will need to take care of those six over there.'' He whispered as he saw six walkers shuffling around the car.

''Ok, we're gonna make a run for it,'' he told her, ''whatever you hear, just don't look around, keep your eyes on me.'' He instructed. He knew that Riley might potentially freak out by the enormous size of the herd that was behind the stables.

After she gave him a quick nod, he counted down from three to zero on his fingers and then began to run, Riley holding on to his jacket, running along with him. Riley heard the loud groaning behind her but kept looking at Daryl's back, keeping her promise. She knew she would freak out the minute she would see that big herd again. The growling was beginning to turn louder and Daryl felt the walkers were all drawn now. He looked behind them, seeing the herd coming towards them.

''Fuckin' shit, c'mon Riley run faster!'' He now called out, grabbing her arm, pulling her along with him while he was holding his heavy crossbow in one hand.

After about thirty seconds, they were finally able to reach the car. Daryl quickly fired off his three arrows, killing the three male walkers that were standing in front of the vehicle. Riley ran over to the other one that just rounded the vehicle and stabbed it through its head. There were still two walkers left that now began walking towards them. Daryl ran to the bigger one, jumping up and stabbing the walker in its head with full force, using his trusted buck knife.

Riley ran over to the other rather thin looking walker, and stabbed this one in the head as well. As she pulled back, her knife was jammed. ''Fuck!'' She loudly cursed, pushing the dead walker from her knife with her hand but she wasn't strong enough. ''Daryl!'' She yelled, making him look at her as he had just pulled his knife out of the head of the walker he'd just killed. ''I can't get my knife out!'' She called out in panic. Daryl ran over to her, and quickly pulled out the knife from the walker's head, quickly giving her back her weapon.

As he was doing that, the groaning sounds around them were beginning to grow louder and louder. Daryl looked behind him, seeing that the herd was getting closer.

''C'mon! Get in the car!'' Daryl yelled and Riley quickly turned around and jumped into the car. Daryl had quickly retrieved his arrows from the fallen walkers that were laying on the ground next to him and jumped into the driver's seat.

Riley looked in front of her and her eyes widened at the sight she was seeing. Dozens of walkers were now making their way towards them. It just seemed like a tide full of decaying bodies coming closer and closer. She realized that this herd was much bigger than the one she had just seen a few hours ago.

''Oh my god Daryl drive!'' She shouted as Daryl started the car. He looked up and saw the herd getting closer, knowing it would only be a couple of seconds until the first line of walkers would reach them. He quickly backed up the car, turned around and drove off.

Riley looked into the rearview window and saw the walkers moving further and further away from them. Tears of relief were rolling down her cheeks. ''Fuck we made it!'' Daryl called out as he was still high on adrenaline while he reached over to hold her shaking hand. ''Oh my god.. oh my god.'' She whispered. They made it.

* * *

''It's taken forever, we need to get off this road.'' T-Dog said as the group had been sitting near the highway for at least three hours. ''He'll be back.'' Rick said as he looked around not really trusting his own words.

The rest was still on guard because occasionally they would have to take down a walker that would pass them on the highway. It was fine if it were just one or two, but they feared that a herd would eventually show up if they would stick around here any longer. After another half hour, they heard the sound of a car getting closer. They all quickly ducked down at the sound since they had no idea if it was Daryl or not.

As Daryl stopped the car near the spot where he had parked his motorcycle, the others all jumped up from their hiding place and quickly went over to see who we brought with him. ''Oh my god! She made it!'' Maggie said out loud as she saw Riley opening the car door from the passenger's seat.

''Riley!'' Maggie shouted as she ran towards her friend. Riley hugged her friend as she sobbed. ''I thought we lost you.'' Maggie said as she hugged Riley tighter. ''Almost, if Daryl didn't get me out.'' Riley said as Maggie pulled back.

''I'm so sorry, it was so hectic.'' Maggie said but Riley shook her head. ''It's not your fault.'' She answered as Maggie's lip quivered and quickly pulled Riley into her arms again. ''It's nobody's fault.'' Riley said as she looked at Daryl, who frowned and looked away. Riley knew he was feeling guilty, but it wasn't his fault.

''Shit Riley, don't ever do that again. Jumping out of a car like that.'' Glenn said to her as he walked over to the two crying women. Maggie let go of Riley and Glenn took Riley in his arms, giving his friend a big hug. ''I'm sorry, I just wanted to help.'' Riley told him.

''Riley..'' she suddenly heard Carl say. She pulled back from Glenn and noticed that Carl was standing behind Maggie. He had tears in his eyes as he looked up at her. She got down to his level and hugged him. ''I'm so glad you're ok.'' He sobbed.

''You didn't find Andrea?'' Carol asked Daryl, who shook his head. ''Nah, I scanned over the entire place but she ain't there.'' He told her, and the group frowned at the news. Andrea was gone.

''How did the farm look like?'' Rick asked the hunter. ''Place is fuckin' crawling with walkers, I've never seen such a big herd before.'' Daryl explained with a frown on his face. ''The walkers on the farm were attracting the ones that had been in the woods. It seemed like that herd was just getting bigger and bigger.'' Daryl said to Rick, making the latter sigh in defeat. There was no way they could go back to the farm now.

''I'm sure that they will head over this way since they had spotted us and followed the car. Might take some time though.'' Daryl said and Rick nodded in understanding.

''Ok, we need to get out of here guys. A herd might be coming through here any time soon.'' He told the others. ''Where are we gonna go?'' Glenn asked. ''Can't we go back to the farm?'' Beth asked and Rick shook his head. ''No, it's infested with walkers, it's impossible to go back.'' He told everyone.

''I think we should head East.'' T-Dog suddenly suggested and Rick nodded, thankful that others were thinking along with him.

''Gotta stay off the main roads though, the bigger the road the more walkers seem to pass by.'' Daryl added, seeing at least five walkers in the distance shuffling towards them. ''Ok, get the cars and let's go.'' Rick ordered and everyone quickly did as he said.

Daryl led Riley to his motorcycle, making her frown at him. ''I ain't lettin' you outta my sight again woman, so ya better not be arguin' with me over this.'' He told her as he placed his crossbow in one of the bike's side bags along with the gun he took from Riley before he got on. She gave him a small smile, shaking her head. ''Of course not.'' She replied and sat down behind him. ''Finally gives me the chance to experience sitting on a bike with an extremely hot looking redneck.'' She joked and he faintly blushed as she kissed him on his cheek.

''It makes me feel so naughty.'' She whispered into his ear with a grin, making him go beat red in his face. She wrapped her arms around his waist, scooting closer towards him to press herself against his back.

''Damn woman, ya have such a dirty-ass mind.'' He grumbled, trying to calm down of the sudden rush he felt going through his body by feeling her soft breasts pressing against his back. She actually had the nerve to wiggle her chest a little against him.

''Woman, will ya stop with all the movin' 'round?'' He barely managed to get out of his mouth. ''I'm just trying to get comfy back here, but my breasts are not agreeing with each other on where to sit more comfortably against your hard-ass back.'' She replied, making his eyes widened at the mere thought of her breasts. ''It's like I'm leaning against a freaking wall.'' She mumbled as she moved some more against him.

''Riley, seriously - ya goin' in the car if ya ain't stoppin' that shit.'' He told her as his hands tightened around the handles of his bike.

He suddenly heard her laugh softly behind him, before she tried to muffle the sound by pressing her mouth against his back, letting him know that she knew exactly what she was doing to him - and that she was doing it on purpose. He shook his head as a small smile appeared on his face.

Even after all that had happened, she clearly hadn't lost her jokes and string of flirtations - knowing how to make him feel less tense. The mere thought of never being able to experience these moments with her suddenly hit him like a ton of bricks and he instantly frowned.

''You know it's not your fault what happened, right?'' She suddenly said to him as she leaned her head on his right shoulder while they were waiting for the others to get ready. The look he had given her earlier when she told Maggie it wasn't anyone's fault had not gone unnoticed by her.

Daryl's jaw tensed at her comment but didn't reply. ''Daryl, it's not - ok? It isn't anyone's fault.'' She reassured him. She frowned as he still didn't reply. ''Da-…'' She started but was cut off by Rick. ''Ok people let's go.'' The man called out before getting into his car. Daryl started his motorcycle, preventing Riley to say anything else on the matter as his bike was making too much noise.

He took his feet off the ground that had kept his motorcycle in place and drove after Rick's car, followed by the rest of the group, driving further and further away from the place they had once been able to call home.

* * *

_**A/N: I hope you liked this chapter. If I messed up Daryl's tracking I'm sorry, I just went with my own imagination on how he would be able to track people down lol. I'm not an experienced hunter haha.**_

_**Hello to all of you new followers to this story and also to the people that have been favoring it, thank you! ;)**_

_**Anyways, I wanted to give a shout out to the small amount of people that took the time to leave me a review, especially to you loyal ones out there: 'YOU GUYS ARE AWESOME!' It's a bit difficult not being able to see what people think of my story, but you really help me out.**_

_**I hope nobody objects to the idea of me trying to cover the 8-months gap**__**? I was working with ideas and have some things already written down - but I was wondering what your thoughts on this were, since I'm not only writing this story for myself haha. Please let me know, alright? :)**_

_**Thank you for reading - the next chapter will be posted asap, since this story is far from over… ;)**_


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